The steeplechase of security checks at Ben Gurion International Airport begins long before an erstwhile passenger reaches the terminal building.

At the airport entrance – over two miles from the check-in desks – armed guards screen every arriving vehicle and briefly question those inside. By the time a traveller is finally allowed to board a plane departing from Israel, he or she will have cleared no less than 12 layers of security.

The disappearance of EgyptAir flight MS804 after its departure from Paris has raised more questions about the ability of European airports to protect their passengers. Next month, Ben Gurion airport will share its expertise with aviation security officials from 33 countries, including Britain and France.

Israel has suffered decades of terrorism, but no-one has been killed or wounded inside Ben Gurion airport – or on board an aircraft departing from its runways – for the last 44 years.

This was not a matter of chance. Ben Gurion is the only international airport in Israel, so the country would be isolated from the world if any terrorist group were to shut down its terminal buildings.