Israel’s skies can open in 10 days as corona cabinet gives OK

It now falls to the Transportation, Health and Foreign Ministers to formulate a plan that will enable Israelis to travel abroad in 10 days.

By David Isaac, World Israel News

Israelis famously love to travel. So they will celebrate the news that the corona cabinet approved opening Israel’s skies on August 16 in a decision on Wednesday evening.

It now falls to Transportation Minister Miri Regev, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi to formulate a plan that will enable Israelis to travel abroad in 10 days’ time.

There are many details to work out, such as where Israelis will be allowed to fly. To all countries or only those marked as “green,” that is with a low infection rate. The ministers will also need to decide if Israelis will have to enter self-isolation for two weeks when they return, as is currently the case.

It’s also not clear which countries will allow Israelis to enter, given that Israel has one of the highest infection rates in the world and is rated a “red” country, website N12 reports.

Most EU countries may balk at allowing Israelis to enter before there’s significant improvement in controlling the spread of the virus. Some countries still allow Israelis in, among them the U.S. and Canada.

“As it stands at the moment, there is a high probability that the first flights will be to Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus,” Gil Satyu, Israir’s VP of marketing and sales, told N12.

N12 reports that most countries require people to be tested before traveling. Israel plans to follow suit and will set up testing labs at the airport to give a fast answer for those traveling abroad.

Corona czar Ronni Gamzu said at a press briefing on Thursday that Israel is putting out a tender for the project. “It gives us confidence and connects us to a great many countries,” he said.

For the time being Israelis will want to hold tight. El Al’s offices are still closed and not fielding calls.