The Israeli national airline is El Al . It has direct flights to Ben Gurion Airport from most major European cities, as well as from New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Baltimore and Orlando in the United States. Ben Gurion is also served by a great many foreign airlines, including Air France, Alitalia, British Airways, Lufthansa and Swissair; and American Airlines, Delta, Tower Air and TWA.

Fares are seasonal. The high season is during the Jewish and Christian holiday periods, in particular Passover, Easter and Rosh ha-Shanah. At such times fares are at a premium and it can often be hard to find seats.

It is always worth looking into flights to Eilat’s Ovda airport. This largely caters for charter traffic, and it is on these flights that the cheapest fares are to be found. The drawbacks are that there are often restrictions on the dates you may travel and you have to make your own way up to Jerusalem and back, a bus journey of between four and five hours each way.

Named after the first prime minister of Israel, Ben Gurion Airport lies southeast of Tel Aviv, just off the road to Jerusalem. All international flights arrive at and depart from the ultra-modern Terminal 3, which opened in 2004. Services at the airport include duty-free shops, a telecommunications office, foreign currency exchange offices, car-hire outlets and tourist information and hotel reservation desks. There is a domestic terminal for flights to Eilat; Jerusalem and Tel Aviv both have small city airports for internal flights.

Ben Gurion reputedly has the tightest security of any airport in the world. The time taken to inspect every item of baggage means that passengers must check in three hours before departure. However, anyone flying with El Al can check in luggage the day before at special offices in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa. Those who do this need only turn up at the airport an hour and a quarter before departure.

Ben Gurion Airport is at Lod, about 22 km (14 miles) from Tel Aviv and some 45 km (28 miles) from Jerusalem. Private taxis take about 45 minutes to Jerusalem, or you can take a shared taxi, or sherut , which is much cheaper. These leave from just outside the arrivals hall. They do not set off until they are full, but it is rare to have to wait more than 10 or 15 minutes. The sheruts  run through the night and will drop passengers anywhere in the city.

Egged buses Nos. 945 and 947 depart every half hour from around 5:30am until 9pm for Jerusalem’s Central Bus Station on Jaffa Road. While this is the cheapest method of getting from the airport into the city, the bus station is more than a kilometre from the centre of the New City, and most people will then have to catch a further bus or taxi on to their hotel. The buses do not run on Shabbat – sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.

To get to the airport from Jerusalem, book a taxi the day before departure. Most hotels can usually organize this or call the number for licensed taxis at Ben Gurion Airport.

Jordan’s principal airport, and the home base for the national carrier Royal Jordanian Airlines , is Queen Alia International. Royal Jordanian has direct services between Amman and most major European capitals. It also flies, via Amsterdam, to New York and Chicago.

Other major carriers flying into Amman include Air France, Alitalia, British Airways and KLM. There are no non-stop flights from the US – instead you have to fly via a European hub. There is a second airport, known as Marka, about 5 km (3 miles) east of central Amman, but this handles only short-hop flights to Israel and Egypt. There is also a further airport about 10 km (6 miles) north of Aqaba, but it receives few international flights.

Flights to Amman are not cheap. In general, it is much more economical to fly into Ben Gurion or Eilat in Israel and take a bus across the border. The airport at Sharm el-Sheikh in Sinai lies about 17 km (11 miles) north of town. It is served by Air Sinai and Egypt Air, but these are not direct flights; they involve a change of plane in Cairo.

Queen Alia Airport is about 30 km (19 miles) south of Amman. Comfortable Airport Express buses depart hourly between 7:15am and 9:15pm for Downtown from just outside the arrivals terminal. Other buses head for the northern parts of town. Be sure to check the destination before boarding. Baggage is charged extra. Alternatively, you can catch a private taxi, but bear in mind that the official going rate is some 15 times the fare on the bus.

Within Israel domestic flights are operated by Arkia . In Jerusalem these flights use Atarot Airport, 7 km (4 miles) north of the city centre. They connect to Tel Aviv (Sde Dov Airport), Eilat and Haifa. With distances in Israel being so short, it only makes sense to fly internally to or from Eilat.

El Al and Royal Jordanian both fly between Ben Gurion and Amman, while El Al and Air Sinai connect Ben Gurion with Sharm el-Sheikh and Cairo. Fares are not cheap, but you can, of course, save a lot of time by flying.