Israel will gradually reopen Ben Gurion Airport starting on Sunday.
The exact details remain murky and are subject to change as the plans are not yet finalized and still require final voting by the government.
For the first week, just 1,000 daily passengers will be allowed into the country. That number will gradually grow to 3,000 daily passengers.
Flights will initially be limited to Frankfurt, Kiev, NYC (JFK and Newark), and Paris. London may also be added.
Israelis with Green Passports, which are issued to those who have been vaccinated, recovered from COVID, or have COVID antibodies, will be able to enter and leave the country without needing any special permission. They will have to take a COVID test before their flight and upon landing in Ben Gurion, but they will not have to quarantine.
Israelis without Green Passports will still need special permission to leave the country, but will be able to enter the country without needing special permission. They will have to take a COVID test before their flight and upon landing in Ben Gurion, and they will have to quarantine. They can choose between a hotel quarantine or a home quarantine with an electronic monitoring bracelet that will require a 1,500 shekel deposit.
Foreign nationals will need to apply for special permission to fly to Israel, though it’s unclear what the criteria will be to apply for permission to enter.
People who were vaccinated or recovered outside of Israel may be able to leave quarantine based on an antibody test in Israel, though the details on this are murky as well.
Another unknown is what the rules will be for children under 16 that don’t qualify for the vaccine and haven’t recovered from COVID. Will they be able to leave the country without permission if traveling with their parents that have a Green Passport? Will they need to quarantine upon return to Israel?
There are lots of unknowns at this point, but hopefully those questions will soon be answered.
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49 Comments On "Israel Will Gradually Reopen Ben Gurion Airport Starting On Sunday, But Questions Remain"
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Well summarized
Thanks 🙂
Anything on foreign nationals but with vaccine taken in Israel (i.e., students)?
I’d assume that students vaccinated in Israel will be able to get permission to enter and not have to quarantine, but those details have not yet been published.
I wouldn’t assume that. Not yet, anyway….
“People who were vaccinated or recovered outside of Israel may be able to leave quarantine based on an antibody test in Israel, though the details on this are murky as well.”
Experience here in Israel so far shows that if you want to get an Ishur [for any reason] to exit bidud you need to submit an electronic form online AND YOUR ANSWER WOULD COME BY EMAIL 9-12 DAYS LATTER!!!
Ouch. Hopefully they can fix that as that’s absurd.
I wonder what would happen if you submitted the request 12 days before your trip? Then you’d have the answer by the time you get there and could leave quarantine (assuming you passed the antibody test of course).
After we made Aliyah, we got an email letting us know our Bidud was over a good month and a half after we landed.
Baruch habaa before you start making decisions ask people who went through aliya and not just 1
yeah i got a letter too, at first i thought it was my green “passport” since i got the antibody test here from my kupa…found it rather odd to get notice so late.
Dan
whats with American Bucherim that learn in Israel that got vaccinted there and have a green passport, will they be able to come and go
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/israel/israel-will-gradually-reopen-ben-gurion-airport-starting-sunday-questions-remain/#comment-1519328
I think those of us living in the US need to lobby our government to apply pressure on the Israeli government to treat Americans like Israelis. Meaning if one got vaccinated or recovered from the virus to be allowed into Israel without a special permit and without the need to quarantine. Period!
If they trust my American passport to enter their country they can trust one of the various digital green passports offered.
Since the start of the Pandemic the US kept its door open to Israelis and it’s only fair that Israel treat Americans the same.
I believe if the US demands from Isreal that either they treat our citizens fairly or else we will treat their citizens the same, the Israeli policy towards foreign nationals will change very quickly!
What do you think??
Me? I’m not thinking
Yes !!!!!!
I agree buuutttt…..
1. Israelis have not been able to get visas to the US and
2. One of the claims is that the US doesn’t have the equivalent of the green passport. Just handwritten, easily-forged vaccination cards
Are you also prepared to pay VAT on all hotel stays and car rentals?
Is there any evidence yet that shows vaccination prevents asymptomatic infection, especially of variants, so that the person can still be a carrier?
And you still want Israel to admit people who just came from Texas or Mississippi?
the answers have to come quickly: a student may be able to travel at the last minute, but a family has to make arrangements for Pesach no later than 10-14 days before. one has to have time to cancel reservations (and not have to fight about whether cancelation was compelled, with all the attendant complications, charges, etc.) and make plans for Pesach at home.
@dan
How would it work if an American student got the first vaccine in Israel and then left the country and there’s no more a student and took the second person outside of Israel, and now wants to return to Israel. Would he need a partial special entry permit, or is it possible to quarantine for only seven days maybe pay a 50% deposit for the bracelet?
Air Canada has a flight for the 10th. When do you think they will cancel if they will? Based on this post, flights won’t be allowed from YYZ?
They have nothing to gain by cancelling early, but it likely will not operate.
What do think about Swiss though?
Why would an American student who can be set up in Israel for Pesach take the chance of leaving if it’s so complicated and unknown if he can go back? Yikes…just a little over three weeks away!
Only if they don’t really want to come back
What are the chances for Americans being allowed to enter Israel by shavous?
http://ask8ball.net/
“Israelis without Green Passports will still need special permission to leave the country, but will be able to enter the country without needing special permission.”
How will they enforce the 1,000 people per day quota if any Israeli can board a flight without special permission?
United there’s more than one permission etc we’re talking of.
By limiting the number of flights allowed to fly to Israel.
The only thing the post doesn’t explain is if US bochurim studying in Israel need to apply for special permission to leave or if they can leave without it
I would appreciate if someone knows the answer to that
Foreign nationals can always leave without permission.
My main question is wether my son will be allowed back into Israel after pesach if he comes home this week.he got both doses in Israel..and is a student. how crazy difficult Will it be for him to get into the country?I’m really not sure it’s worth the risk of coming home for yuntif…like how risky is it?
Wait for more info before you put him on a flight.
We’ll know more next week, and still more the week after that (and that’s still the first week of Nissan) , and still more the week after that…
Though everything could change in one day after pesach
Dan do you know if united will fly flight number 85 next week? they havent flown it in a while but havnt cancelled yet
@Dan I am scheduled to fly to Israel after the chag on AC on a o/w Aeroplan award in J going LGA-YYZ-TLV. Assuming I am able to enter the country, but assuming flights from YYZ are not able to enter Israel and AC then cancels that leg, what do you think the chances are of AC rebooking me with another SA carrier (either UA direct out of EWR or LH through FRA)?
@Dan when are they going to decide if they will let student that have green passports back into israel
I am a US citizen and have a flight reservation from Istanbul arriving in Israel on Sunday March 7th at 1AM Based on your info will Israel deny me entry since I’m coming from Istanbul? What is your source for this since I can’t find any guidance from the Israeli government websites Thank you for your help.
Israel won’t deny you entry, they will force Turkish to cancel the flight entirely.
Just got email from El Al that my son’s flight 027 TLV-EWR on March 11 was cancelled. Trying to get in touch with El Al to change date…
One important question is about what the impact of the current set of restrictions will be on airline schedules. Suppose an American citizen is currently in EY and intends to return home for Pesach and remain in the US. He is not impacted by any sort of rule and can return home. But suppose he already has a ticket for a flight and is now wondering whether that flight will be cancelled. The problem would be if there are enough other people barred from flying that the airline will not find it economically feasible to keep that flight.
And if the airline does cancel that flight, when would they cancel it? If they wait until just before the flight to cancel it, then he could have a hard time finding another flight at the last minute (not to mention the cost).
I suppose it might make sense for people in this situation to book tickets on airlines which are highly likely to remain flying (e.g. United) and then cancel at the last minute if their other flight seems likely to fly (or already flew).
How does it work with a couple where only one is israeli?
im an american living in eretz yisroel and my wife and kids are israeli,and ive been trying to get permission from the exceptions comitee to leave and come back so far with no sucess.acording to chaim vchessed foreigners (even those married to Israeli citizens) are
only being issued entry permits for life and death situations.i also heard of somebody specific who flew out for his daughters wedding and was deproted on return
btw chaim vchessed seems to be the most reliable source for this type of info https://chaimvchessed.com/
Any updates on which flights to the US from Israel will actually be flying? El Al has already cancelled some flights, but it doesn’t seem that United has. @Dan any insights into what you’re hearing about which flights are actually flying would be helpful.
Thanks for the summary Dan! I have a flight out on Sunday with a layover in Turkey and it hasn’t been cancelled. Just to confirm, will the Israeli government only allow flights from certain destinations?
(my flight is out of Tel Aviv to Istanbul on Sunday)
DOES ANYONE KNOW OF THIS RUMOR. THAT IF ONE SPOUSE IS ISRAELI THEN THAT GIVES THE OTHER SPOUSE THE SAME RIGHTS WITH REGARDS TO TRAVELING. IN THIS CASE THE AMERICAN SPOUSE WILL NOT NEED A VACCINE OR ANTIBODIES ,JUST BIDDUD /
as of now completely false-im an american living in eretz yisroel and my wife and kids are israeli,and ive been trying to get permission from the exceptions comitee to leave and come back so far with no sucess.acording to chaim vchessed”foreigners (even those married to Israeli citizens) are only being issued entry permits for life and death situations”.i also heard of somebody specific who is married to an israeli ,flew out for his daughters wedding and was deported alone when he returned with his israeli family
btw chaim vchessed seems to be the most reliable source for this type of info https://chaimvchessed.com/ you can also email or call them about specific questions .they have been very helpfull at least for me.
I really hope to go to Israel IyH after Pesach for my parents’ yahrtzeits. I’m just hanging in there and keeping watch.