Is Ben Gurion Airport loud, and which areas get the most noise?

It depends entirely on where you are. Ben Gurion (TLV/LLBG) is Israel's single dominant international gateway, wedged into the dense Gush Dan conurbation east of Tel Aviv, so its noise falls over populated suburbs rather than open country. The most consistently affected towns are the northern and north-western neighbours — Or Yehuda, Yehud, Ganei Tikva and Savyon — which sit close to the field under the spread of departure traffic. Holon and southern Tel Aviv catch the over-the-sea arrival path. Drop a pin on the map above to see your specific street.

What is the Ben Gurion 'quiet runway'?

Runway 08/26 — the airport's longest at about 4,062 m — is officially designated the 'quiet runway.' The bulk of jet departures use it, climbing toward the east and north-east, because eastbound climb-out spreads less noise over the densely populated suburbs to the west and north-west. It is the main departure runway; 12/30 handles most arrivals from over the Mediterranean.

Why are there planes flying over Holon and south Tel Aviv?

In the standard configuration most landings approach from the Mediterranean and cross southern Tel Aviv and Holon before touching down on runway 12/30 (west to east). Aircraft on this over-water arrival path are descending but still several thousand feet up over south Tel Aviv, getting lower as they cross Holon toward the field. It is arrival noise rather than the louder departure climb-out.

I'm in Or Yehuda or Yehud — why do I hear so many planes?

Both towns sit immediately north of the airfield (the airport is directly south of Or Yehuda), close to the northern runways and under the lateral spread of the north-west departure flow. They are among the closest residential areas to the field, so even though they aren't on the dead-centre runway axis, the sheer concentration of Israel's air traffic through this one airport means frequent overflight. Use the pin-drop tool above to see the count for your exact address.

Who do I call about aircraft noise from Ben Gurion Airport?

Ben Gurion is operated by the Israel Airports Authority (IAA / Rashut Sdot HaTe'ufa), which handles public enquiries and noise complaints. You can reach the IAA via its contact form at iaa.gov.il, by phone on +972-3-9700000, or on the *6663 call centre from within Israel.

Why does one routing change cause complaints across several cities at once?

Because almost all of Israel's air traffic funnels through this one field, even a modest routing or runway change shifts noise over whole new neighbourhoods simultaneously. Construction and reconfiguration work has at times pushed traffic over western Rishon LeZion, Holon, Beit Dagan, Bnei Atarot and Shoham, triggering complaints from multiple towns at once. The IAA has also acted to cut noise by banning four-engine jumbo jets such as the 747.

Does this map cover all flights at Ben Gurion?

The heatmap and route-density layers are built from ADS-B tracks, which cover the commercial jet fleet that drives the noise complaints. Drop a pin on the map above to see flights per day within 2 km of your address, the hourly profile, and how exposure changes between the arrival and departure flows.

Tel Aviv Flight Path Noise Map – Ben Gurion Airport (TLV)

Name: Aircraft noise observations near Ben Gurion Airport
Creator: Flight Path Noise
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Aircraft noise around Tel Aviv in October 2026

Loudest neighborhoods near Tel Aviv: Or Yehuda, Yehud, Ganei Tikva, Savyon. Quietest: Petah Tikva (south), Southern Tel Aviv, Shoham, Lod. Busiest around 4 PM local time averaging 630 flights/day. Source: Flight Path Noise monitoring data, 30 days to 2026-10-08.

Flights by hour · last 30 days

12a6a12p6p

Average daily traffic

630

flights / day · 18,891 total

Busiest hour

4 PM

peak 95 dB

Loudest hour

4 PM

peak 95 dB

Loudest residential area

Beit Dagan

69 dB avg · ~462 flights/day · Busy road

South-west of the field under turning departure and arrival tracks; named in flight-path-change complaints.

Does Tel Aviv Airport have a curfew?

Yes — a mandatory night curfew, 1:40 AM – 5 AM.

there is a mandatory overnight takeoff curfew for noise abatement. Departures are curfewed from 01:40 until 05:00 in summer and until 05:30 in winter, and the last allocatable departure slot before the curfew is 01:20. After the curfew (05:00/05:30–06:00) takeoffs are authorised only subject to noise thresholds, with a small number of manager-approved exceptions. Landings are generally permitted through the night — the curfew primarily targets departures, so you may still hear arrivals overnight.

Ben Gurion Airport (TLV/LLBG) is Israel’s single dominant international gateway, wedged into the dense Gush Dan conurbation just east of Tel Aviv near Lod — so its noise footprint falls over heavily populated suburbs rather than open country. Its defining noise fact is the deliberate split of traffic: arrivals sweep in from the Mediterranean over southern Tel Aviv and Holon onto runway 12/30, while the bulk of jet departures climb east and north-east off runway 08/26, branded the airport’s official “quiet runway” because that climb-out spreads less noise over the worst-affected residential belt. A mandatory overnight departure curfew (roughly 01:40 to dawn) exists specifically to protect sleeping residents in towns like Or Yehuda, Yehud and Ganei Tikva. Because almost all of Israel’s air traffic funnels through this one field, even modest routing changes ignite community complaints across several cities at once.

Which neighborhoods are quietest — and which aren’t

Ben Gurion runs three runways: 08/26 (about 4,062 m, the longest and the main departure runway — the official “quiet runway”), 12/30 (about 3,112 m, the primary arrival runway), and 03/21 (about 2,772 m, the shortest, extended in 2014 to allow simultaneous operations). The towns that matter most for noise are the ones packed in tight to the north and north-west, plus the arrival belt running west over Holon.

Area	Aircraft noise	Why
Or Yehuda	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Directly north of the field; lateral spread of the north-west departure flow
Yehud	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Immediately on the northern airfield boundary, under the northern-runway tracks
Ganei Tikva	✈︎✈︎✈︎	On the extended departure corridor off 08/26 and 03/21; frequently cited in complaints
Savyon	✈︎✈︎✈︎	Close to the field between the north-west departure tracks
Kiryat Ono	✈︎✈︎	Beyond Or Yehuda on the departure spread, at higher altitude
Beit Dagan	✈︎✈︎	South-west under turning departure and arrival tracks
Holon (south/east)	✈︎✈︎	Under the over-the-sea arrival path toward 12/30
Rishon LeZion (west)	✈︎✈︎	Affected by path changes during runway works; off-corridor otherwise
Ramat Gan (eastern edge)	✈︎✈︎	Catches the spread of north-west departures at moderate altitude
Bnei Atarot / Bareket	✈︎✈︎	East under 08/26 climb-out, but rural and sparsely populated
Petah Tikva (south)	✈︎	North of the field, lateral to the main corridors
Southern Tel Aviv	✈︎	High-altitude over-water arrivals only
Shoham	✈︎	East; affected mainly during runway works
Lod	✈︎	South of the field but lateral to the 08/26 and 12/30 tracks

If aircraft noise is a primary concern, the practical pattern is that the tight ring of towns directly north and north-west of the field — Or Yehuda, Yehud, Ganei Tikva, Savyon — carries the heaviest exposure, while areas that are only on the high-altitude over-water arrival path (south Tel Aviv, the western edge of Rishon LeZion in normal configuration) are far quieter because aircraft are already several thousand feet up. Lod sits right beside the field but lateral to the runway axes, so it sees less direct overflight than its distance suggests. If you’re weighing a specific street, drop a pin on the map above.

Flight patterns and runway use

Prevailing winds on Israel’s coastal plain are predominantly westerly/north-westerly, which favours arrivals from the Mediterranean. In the standard configuration most landings use runway 12/30 from west to east: aircraft approach over the sea and cross southern Tel Aviv and Holon before touching down (the threshold of runway 30 is displaced about 75 m, so the touchdown point is set back from the boundary).

The bulk of jet departures use runway 08/26 — the officially designated “quiet runway” — climbing toward the east and north-east, because that direction spreads less noise over the densely populated suburbs to the west and north-west (runway 26’s threshold is displaced about 600 m). The 2014 extension of runway 03/21 to about 2,772 m enabled an “open-V” operation that uses 08/26 and 03/21 simultaneously, roughly doubling peak movement capacity. Runway 12 can be used for takeoffs in poor weather.

Noise abatement here is built around two levers: the preferential use of 08/26 for departures and the mandatory overnight departure curfew. The IAA has also acted to cut noise by banning four-engine jumbo jets such as the 747. Because Ben Gurion is Israel’s one big field, routing changes have real consequences: construction and reconfiguration work has at times pushed noise over western Rishon LeZion, Holon, Beit Dagan, Bnei Atarot and Shoham, each time triggering fresh community complaints. The route-density layer on the map above shows the cumulative result — a strong departure spread fanning east and north-west off 08/26, plus the over-water arrival band sweeping in across south Tel Aviv and Holon.

When is it quietest?

The single most important thing to know is the overnight departure curfew:

Curfew (01:40 – 05:00 summer / 01:40 – 05:30 winter): no scheduled takeoffs, aside from a small number of manager-approved exceptions. The last allocatable departure slot before the curfew is 01:20. This is the guaranteed quiet window for departure noise.
Important caveat — landings are not curfewed. The restriction targets departures, so arrivals can still come in across the over-water path to 12/30 through the night. If you’re under the Holon / south Tel Aviv arrival belt you may hear traffic even during the curfew window.
05:00/05:30 – 06:00: takeoffs resume but are authorised only subject to noise thresholds, so the early-morning bank ramps up gradually.
06:00 onward: the morning departure bank builds as long-haul and the domestic/regional schedule kick in.
Daytime and evening: sustained traffic through the day, with arrival and departure banks driven by Europe and long-haul connections.

Wind and runway works matter too. A change in configuration — or temporary routing during construction — can suddenly put traffic over a town that is normally off-corridor, which is exactly why routing changes here draw complaints from several cities at once.

How to check noise at your specific address

The map above answers the only question that really matters — “is this spot loud?” Three steps:

Search your address or postcode in the bar at the bottom of the map (works for Or Yehuda, Yehud, Ganei Tikva, Holon, Rishon LeZion and the rest of Gush Dan).
Drop a pin — click the location marker that appears.
Read the noise report in the sidebar: average daily noise, peak observed level, flights per day passing within 2 km, and an hourly breakdown.

The Noise Heatmap layer (orange/red = louder) and the Route Density layer (purple/magenta = busier corridors) make the split obvious: the departure fan east and north-west off 08/26 over Or Yehuda, Yehud and Ganei Tikva, and the over-water arrival band crossing south Tel Aviv and Holon toward 12/30. Addresses inside the tight northern ring will read hot; those only under the high-altitude over-water arrival path will read much cooler. To report noise once you’ve identified the source, contact the Israel Airports Authority (IAA), which operates Ben Gurion and handles public enquiries.

Frequently asked questions

Is Ben Gurion Airport loud, and which areas get the most noise?: It depends entirely on where you are. Ben Gurion (TLV/LLBG) is Israel's single dominant international gateway, wedged into the dense Gush Dan conurbation east of Tel Aviv, so its noise falls over populated suburbs rather than open country. The most consistently affected towns are the northern and north-western neighbours — Or Yehuda, Yehud, Ganei Tikva and Savyon — which sit close to the field under the spread of departure traffic. Holon and southern Tel Aviv catch the over-the-sea arrival path. Drop a pin on the map above to see your specific street.
What is the Ben Gurion 'quiet runway'?: Runway 08/26 — the airport's longest at about 4,062 m — is officially designated the 'quiet runway.' The bulk of jet departures use it, climbing toward the east and north-east, because eastbound climb-out spreads less noise over the densely populated suburbs to the west and north-west. It is the main departure runway; 12/30 handles most arrivals from over the Mediterranean.
Why are there planes flying over Holon and south Tel Aviv?: In the standard configuration most landings approach from the Mediterranean and cross southern Tel Aviv and Holon before touching down on runway 12/30 (west to east). Aircraft on this over-water arrival path are descending but still several thousand feet up over south Tel Aviv, getting lower as they cross Holon toward the field. It is arrival noise rather than the louder departure climb-out.
I'm in Or Yehuda or Yehud — why do I hear so many planes?: Both towns sit immediately north of the airfield (the airport is directly south of Or Yehuda), close to the northern runways and under the lateral spread of the north-west departure flow. They are among the closest residential areas to the field, so even though they aren't on the dead-centre runway axis, the sheer concentration of Israel's air traffic through this one airport means frequent overflight. Use the pin-drop tool above to see the count for your exact address.
Who do I call about aircraft noise from Ben Gurion Airport?: Ben Gurion is operated by the Israel Airports Authority (IAA / Rashut Sdot HaTe'ufa), which handles public enquiries and noise complaints. You can reach the IAA via its contact form at iaa.gov.il, by phone on +972-3-9700000, or on the *6663 call centre from within Israel.
Why does one routing change cause complaints across several cities at once?: Because almost all of Israel's air traffic funnels through this one field, even a modest routing or runway change shifts noise over whole new neighbourhoods simultaneously. Construction and reconfiguration work has at times pushed traffic over western Rishon LeZion, Holon, Beit Dagan, Bnei Atarot and Shoham, triggering complaints from multiple towns at once. The IAA has also acted to cut noise by banning four-engine jumbo jets such as the 747.
Does this map cover all flights at Ben Gurion?: The heatmap and route-density layers are built from ADS-B tracks, which cover the commercial jet fleet that drives the noise complaints. Drop a pin on the map above to see flights per day within 2 km of your address, the hourly profile, and how exposure changes between the arrival and departure flows.

Sources and further reading

Ben Gurion Airport — Wikipedia
Ben Gurion International Airport runways (LLBG) — OurAirports
Israel to ban jumbo jets from Ben Gurion airport to cut noise, pollution — The Times of Israel
More cities face noise from new Ben Gurion Airport flight paths — Globes
Israel Airports Authority — Contact Us / Ben Gurion Airport — Israel Airports Authority

Data updated 2026-10-08 — live ADS-B monitoring, rolling 30-day statistics (methodology). Article text revised 2026-06-12.

30 dB	Whisper
45 dB	Quiet residential
55 dB	Normal conversation
65 dB	Busy road
75 dB	Vacuum cleaner
85 dB	Heavy traffic
95 dB	Motorcycle nearby

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Tel Aviv Flight Path Noise Map – Ben Gurion Airport (TLV)

Aircraft noise around Tel Aviv in October 2026

Does Tel Aviv Airport have a curfew?

Which neighborhoods are quietest — and which aren’t

Flight patterns and runway use

When is it quietest?

How to check noise at your specific address

Frequently asked questions

Sources and further reading

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