An El Al Boeing 747-238B. Photo: WikiMedia Commons.

According to one opinion maker, El Al Airlines gives travelers the right kind of headache.

Frank Barrett, Sunday Travel Editor for the UK’s Daily Mail, lauded the Israeli airline for its no-nonsense approach to airport security in a recent op-ed.

“El Al security experts scoff at the way that other countries think they can deal with terrorism merely by introducing the likes of full body scanners or getting people to take their shoes off,” Barrett wrote. Travelers with other airlines literally spend hours standing in line waiting to be examined by a machine, and Barrett thinks this is time that could be better spent. “The only sure way of dealing with the threat is to talk to every passenger,” he wrote.

El Al security personnel do just that, interviewing each potential passenger and judging the level of flight risk based on their answers. The airline’s impeccable track record for preventing onboard terrorism is evidence that this method works, and readers of Global Traveler Magazine have chosen El Al as the “Best Airline for Security” for the past six consecutive years.

Israel’s flagship airline recently launched UP, a low-fare line of planes that will fly to select locations in Europe. The new brand is seen as a response to the “open-skies agreement,” which was signed by Israel and the European Union in June. The deal is meant to increase the number of flights between the two markets and is expected to increase competition among airlines.