Starting for arrivals on Wednesday, August 11th, Israel will include the US and many other countries on their orange list.
Countries on the orange list will require mandatory quarantine, even if you already had COVID or are vaccinated. Currently those include the UAE, Myanmar, Guatemala, Honduras, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Colombia, Fiji, Mongolia and Cambodia. As of next Wednesday the list will include the United States, Germany, France, Greece, Egypt, Ukraine, Italy, Iceland, Eswatini, Botswana, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Tanzania, Malawi, the Czech Republic, Cuba, Rwanda, and Tunisia.
Uganda, Seychelles, Zambia, Liberia, Panama, Paraguay, Costa Rica and Kenya will be removed from the orange list starting on August 6th.
Israelis are not allowed to fly to red countries without special permission and they are subject to fines if they do. Those include Spain, Argentina, Brazil, South Africa, India, Mexico, Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Cyprus, Turkey, Georgia, and the UK.
You’ll want to arrive into Israel before Wednesday to avoid a mandatory quarantine from the newly added orange countries.
A potential workaround to all of this is to fly to a non-high risk country such as Canada or Switzerland, spend 2 weeks there, and then fly to Israel. However with the COVID-19 delta strain spreading rapidly across the globe, it’s only a matter of time before most or all countries in the world are considered high risk.
El Al will waive all change fees and the difference in fare for flights that are scheduled to arrive in Israel starting on August 11th if you rebook to arrive before then.
El Al will also allow people who have nonstop tickets from Israel to other countries for travel in August that was purchased on or before August 2nd. If you have a ticket from Israel to the US, you can change to fly to anywhere else that El Al flies to without any change fees or difference in fare. If you have a ticket from Israel to Europe, you can fly to anywhere else that El Al flies in Europe, including Morocco, without any change fees or difference in fare. Tickets to Cyprus and Greece can’t be changed to other destinations, but you can freeze your ticket or get a voucher if you’re not on a lite fare.
Will you change your flight?
HT: yandmk and Moishebatchy
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30 Comments On "Israel Publishes List Of Orange And Red Countries; El Al Will Allow Free Changes With Waived Fare Difference"
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I bought a business class ticket with the sale price a few months ago, and I needed to pay $870 extra to change the ticket to fly back to Israel before the quarantine requirement (instead of in 2 weeks). Now that fare differences are waved do you think there would be a way to get that money back?
Can’t hurt to ask.
Its time for a new poll on when Israel will actually open their borders again to foreigners. I initially thought somewhere around 2023 and now leaning more towards 2030.
I wish there was a way to Like your comment, I couldn’t agree more!!!
They are so crazy y can’t isreal look how good Europe did this summer all flights and hotels all over Europe was sold out and overbooked y can’t they just open up and don’t ask all passengers arriving to test don’t loook so much live up to hashem
Is it safe to assume that all students who will be coming to Israel in August are now going to have to quarantine for a week even if they test negative when entering the country?
That is correct for students arriving from Orange countries after Aug 10.
Can Canadians travel to Israel now?
If they have a Class B visa or receive permission on other grounds.
I’ve already postponed by Israel trip 3 times. Looks like my September trip will now also be postponed. I suppose I could try to reschedule for spring — Iberia has been willing to do this for me, albeit with tremendous hassle — but I’m thinking it might be better to get my miles back and end the madness.
Same boat here. Rebooked for spring, but who knows when they will reopen.
Dan your a great guy you need to get involve here
I am a travel agent I book business and first class flights and private jets if I could show you real numbers I promise you will be shocked how much money we left over in Europe this summer
Me personal I was in Switzerland Germany Budapast all over Europe they just ask you for a stupid negative covid test most of the time they didn’t even look if it’s good or not 🙂
I think isreal needs to stop looking so much just open up let us in just ask the same like all Europe did and the economy tourist business will be booming
I will try to put you together some real numbers how much money we are talking about now by canceling isreal for September
Promise you will be very shocked
Please email me private
Would live to know why the US isn’t doing this
Why spend two weeks in a non-high risk country, if you can spend the time in Eretz Yisrael? Rather be in bidud in Israel than some other country.
Glad I changed my tickets to a week earlier but we’ll see what the unwritten rules actually are tomorrow.
Anyone have experience with the rapid PCR testing at LGA and JFK (the free ones through NYC Health and Hospitals)? How quickly are the results back? I have a Monday night flight and want to test at LGA on Sunday morning (driving in to NYC for the flight). TIA
you can do it in any BP clinic I usually get my results within 4-5 hours
How can you change your flight?
anyway online?
It is becoming plainly obvious that even 80 percent vaccination wont matter. There new strands will continue to be more and more vaccine resistant. Until the world gets tired enough…… This is MUCH closer to the beggining than it is to the end (the end being when we go back to normal world)
What exactly does two weeks of quarantine in Israel for a seminary student look like? Can they just spend the two weeks in the Seminary, since I assume 100% of the girls will need to quarantine? Will they have to quarantine in a hotel?
From the u.s. it will be one week in their seminary dorm. Coming from Most countries will need to quarantine but not all.
Hey, I purchased 10 elal tickets via a travel agent for succos (with insurance) Can I get a refund?
Do airlines match about something like waiving change fees? Specifically I have tickets on Delta …
i had a ticket to arrive Wednesday morning 08/11/2021
just got an email that El Al changed it earlier to get to Israel 11:30 pm just an half hour before the new rules go into effect. Hope will work out!
Where does it say there is a waiver for difference in fare? When I called Amex to change flight to earlier they could not find this info
It’s in Hebrew in the post.
Can you please post a link to this on their website? thank you!
I got that from a travel agent who got it from El Al.
El Al’s call center should confirm those same details.
Thank you. What is the call centers number? They seem to only have WhatsApp which they did not respond to yet.
https://www.dansdeals.com/points-travel/airlines/el-al/el-al-finally-reopens-israeli-call-center/
Did anyone have success changing to an earlier flight without a difference in fare?