The extreme move, which makes Israel the first in the world to close its main airport, was accepted following the rise in morbidity • Israelis will be able to return to Israel by private planes • The Ministry of Health clarifies: Ben Gurion Airport must be closed for at least a month •
Empty skies:
Ben-Gurion Airport will be closed tonight (Tuesday) for commercial flights, and the decision is valid until next Sunday, at least.
Dr. Elrai-Price, today: "Ben Gurion Airport must be closed for at least a month" // Photo: Knesset Channel
The head of the public health services at the Ministry of Health, Dr. Sharon Elrai Price, addressed the issue of the airport this evening and clarified that it takes at least an entire month during which Ben Gurion Airport will be closed to deal with the illness.
"We must buy time for the residents of the State of Israel to be vaccinated. We will need a few weeks to allow the vaccination campaign to progress rapidly, so that even if infectious variants enter, we can take control of them. At present we do not know why the vaccine is ineffective. It takes time, "she said.
Almost 3,000 passengers who passed through the airport entered Israel today.
This is one of the busiest days at Ben Gurion Airport recently, as on an average day only about 1,500 passengers enter the country recently. At the same time, about 2,700 passengers left Israel, some to their homes in different countries and some took the last opportunity to evade For the near future.
An extreme and rare step
The State of Israel is the only one in the world that has taken such an extreme step.
The airport is the main gateway to the country and there will be no options to get in and out except in exceptional cases like funeral, medical event or humanitarian case.
There are exceptional committees to which applications can be submitted, but even those who are approved to leave the country will not be able to find flights, since foreign airlines are not allowed to land in Israel at least until next Sunday, and it seems that even beyond that.
How can Israelis still leave the country?
Commercial flights will not be operated, and the only option is on private planes.
This is a very expensive option, and there is expected to be a growing demand for private flights in the coming days.
Nir Bromstein, CEO of Gesher Aeri, a private jet company, commented on the decision and said: "We have received a message that Israelis can return to Israel on private planes, and of course there is already demand.
Anyone wishing to leave the country will need to obtain special approval from the Exceptions Committee.
The passenger who wants to leave the country will have to present all the necessary permits to operate the flight.
However, we are in a very unclear situation, and why do we avoid a foreign plane landing for a short time without a stay and prevent Israelis from leaving the country without returning?
The decision is simply delusional and illogical. "
At the same time, land border crossings will remain open.
Government officials explain the decision to leave the border crossings with Egypt and Jordan open by saying that a certain bureaucratic process is needed, saying that the issue has even been brought to the Corona Project's table, but the decision to close the land border crossings is likely to take some time.
Tourism executives are very harshly critical of the decision to close the airport, as it is a move with serious consequences.
It is currently unclear who will return the flight money to those Israelis whose flights have been canceled, who will pay for their living in destinations where they are stuck, the economic damage to airlines and workers is enormous and this is only a small part of what they will have to deal with in the industry the next day.