"Israeli Aviation Will Change": Stickers on the Floor Marking the Distance and Tablets in the Toilet • Israeli Today Writer Visited Ben Gurion Airport

About two months after the Corona virus arrived in Israel, Ben-Gurion Airport had already begun to take significant steps towards returning the aircraft. The number of planes to land in Israel and take off from here in the first phase will be significantly smaller than we knew before the Corona era, but the decline in morbidity rates in Israel and other countries around the world is drawing us closer to a more active movement in the sky.

Interview with Israel VP on Aviation Status // Reporter: Shimon Yaish, Photo: Gil Kramer, Editing: Gilad Distelman

Israir's VP Gil Fall told Israel Today: "It is clear to everyone that the sky will not open in the boom and one day they will fill up with planes. The premise is that the sky will first open among countries where the percentage of corona morbidity is low, with the rate of infection It is slow.

"As for the flight, the air changes every 5 to 7 minutes, depending on the type of aircraft, so the air in the aircraft is relatively clean. For disinfection, today 'Israir' is self-disinfecting its aircraft, and the plan is to do so at every landing of the aircraft from abroad, and really Also give more confidence to the passengers.

"As for the pre-flight stage, probably at the airport will not allow anyone to fly, ask for some proof that you are not sick in Corona, or not infected with the virus in the last 24 or 48 hours, so that you enter a relatively safe environment. About the price, too early to say. There are all kinds of gimmicks out there that 'Book now a 10 euro flight for June.' I'm not sure this flight will take place, and more people are using this card to convert it to another ticket or get some kind of compensation from the company.

"Israeli aviation will change, certainly in scope. We are talking about a gradual return to activity between 30 and 40 percent in the first wave. There has been talk, for many years about some merger between the companies, to produce one or two Israeli airlines. At present,

there is no A serious decision or something significant to make a connection between the companies, but such a connection is required. "

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on a visit to Ben Gurion Airport, you can see a different airport. The floors are full of stickers two meters apart. The stickers are written in English, Arabic and Hebrew "Please wait here" so that passersby will keep the required distance, even in the long queues. best.

round Ben Gurion Airport, we also found many positions in the disinfection of hands, hands-free, placed there recently. The new toilet cells also allow contactless use: water, soap and drying. Ran out of soap or toilet paper? Special tablets were placed near the service chambers, and with a single click they reported the shortage to the service personnel.

Ben Gurion Airport also began to place transparent glass partitions between the passengers and the workers. As part of the tests conducted at the entrance to Israel, a thermal camera was installed to arm heat for all those entering Israel, without having to come in contact with them. .

It should be noted that this is an experiment and similar cameras may soon be set up in other areas of the Ben Gurion Airport, too. Senior aviation industry officials say that the State of Israel is ready to receive tourists, and it can be checked shortly after or before the flight. Within a few hours, tests are in place to provide quicker answers. Senior airport officials have made it clear that they can meet even higher demands than they already have at Ben Gurion Airport, and are awaiting instructions from the Ministry of Health on the matter. 

In recent days, reports have been received of companies scheduled to return to Israel including British Airways, Air Canada, Portuguese TAP and US Delta. In anticipation of a return to partial El Al activity, the company is expected to launch flights to Paris and London next week.

The Luccost Wiz Air operated its first flight on the London-Tel Aviv line earlier this week after more than a month of not operating in Israel. The company will continue to operate a two-week line from Ben Gurion Airport, and soon we will see more companies returning to operate flights to Israel.