A mini-roundup on Israel travel news.
In case you missed it, here is the link for the 10/9/20 News Roundup: COVID-19 Second Wave, Flights To Nowhere, Skymiles Mortgage, Airlines Banning Food, Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Home Makeover, Faked Death, And More!
- Israel is emerging from a 2nd lockdown and while foreign nationals are still banned from entry, Israelis can once again purchase tickets to fly abroad.
- El Al is slowly relaunching service after a 6+ month hiatus, but with foreign nationals still banned, it won’t be easy for them to fill their planes. With a 2nd wave now in many countries, it’s not looking good for travel to Israel anytime soon. Color me surprised that El Al didn’t pull a Qantas and close down shop until 2021. Maybe the cargo operations to the limited destinations are profitable?
- El Al appears to have quietly extended Matmid status by 12 months, a good move considering their extended shutdown. Now if only they could make the program competitive with their competition, they might be able to stem their revenue and market share losses.
- Israel is moving the UK from Green to Red this week, as England is in the midst of their own COVID-19 2nd wave. That means Israelis will have to quarantine upon return from the UK.
- A current list of Green and Red countries can be found here. With a 2nd wave now taking hold in Italy and Germany, don’t be surprised to see them go red again as well.
- Israel will accept antibody tests for a quarantine exemption. Until now you needed to provide an positive and negative PCR test in order to be exempt from quarantine. However due to people forging antibody results from abroad, you will officially be required to take an antibody test in Israel as well and then wait for the results. Locations are listed here. While antibody tests are covered by insurance in the US, they are pricey in Israel.
- DDF member ExGingi posts that his wife was able bypass quarantine with US antibody test results and she wasn’t even asked to produce the results that she brought along! Share your experience in the comments!
- Israel and Bahrain have signed an agreement establishing diplomatic relations.
- Expect to see direct flights between the countries on Gulf Air, El Al, and/or Israir in 2021.
- Israel and the UAE have agreed on 28 weekly nonstop flights between the countries.
- Expect to see flights on Emirates, Etihad, El Al, and Israir between Tel Aviv or Eilat and Abu Dhabi or Dubai in 2021.
- Israir has added business class seating to their flights. It’s no Emirates or Etihad shower class, but it beats all coach seating:
לאחר שהפסידה את המכרז ההיסטורי להטסת המשלחת הישראלית לאיחוד האמירויות בחודש אוגוסט, חברת ישראייר הפיקה לקחים, והתקינה בשבוע החולף מחלקת עסקים באחד ממטוסיה. כעת תוכל החברה להטיס את צמרת המדינה לאירועים רשמיים בחוץ לארץ ברקע הדיבורים על מדינות ערביות נוספות שינרמלו@ynetalerts pic.twitter.com/XUnldSoxOa
— איתי בלומנטל Itay Blumental (@ItayBlumental) October 13, 2020
- Etihad has launched a Hebrew version of their site for Israelis as they prepare for direct flights. I also love how they write Etihad as Etichad in Hebrew:
Here is how they pronounce their name. It’s interesting to see it marketed with an H in English, but with a CH in Hebrew. Maybe they’ll start using Etijad en español?
- Meanwhile, the Ben Gurion site has the airline listed as Ethihad 😀
It shows a nonstop Etihad flight staying on the ground for just 2.5 hours tomorrow for the first official delegation official from Abu Dhabi to Israel. Due to COVID-19, their meetings will be limited to the airport.
That saved some travel time over their previous routing that avoided Israel:
- A new era, Inshallah!
'A new era inshallah'.
Listen to Israeli atc exchange with Etihad flight, overflying Israel for historic first time back to Abu Dhabi
🇦🇪🇮🇱pic.twitter.com/TfRETZWdKc— avi scharf (@avischarf) October 14, 2020
2020 will be the first year that we don’t make it to the holy land in several years, but hopefully 2021 will herald a return to normal!
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28 Comments On "Israel Travel News: Flight Sales Open, Antibody Tests Accepted, El Al Status Extension, UAE Bilateral Agreement, Etihad Israel Site+Delegation, A New Era Inshallah!"
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Eithad with a ח is 100% correct..the fact that ashkenazis can’t pronounce a ח properly is a separate topic! 🙂
Yes, the ح in Etihad is the Arabic letter corresponding to ח. A reasonable direct translation for Etihad would be התאחדות
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heth
Though pronunciation wise, most pronounce ח closer to خ these days.
@dan
What is your advice about booking a united flight for Shavuos 2021 now- is it a risk? Better to wait a bit? There aren’t so many flights available altogether…but trying to make plans in advance. I would be doing some tickets with points and some with cash.
There’s certainly a risk, but with free changes, the risk isn’t too high.
if their lettings people be exempt from quarantine with antibody test then why wouldnt you go in 2020? just have your family take the test?
1. Read the first bullet point in the post?
2. Only I have antibodies.
so the antibody test ifor quarantine exemption s only for israelis with israeli passports, and green countries its a ban on all foreign nationals only some countries like us and uk added this week
Come again?
Not everyone has antibodies
Any idea which Email to use to send request for non israeli citizen to enter Israel for a wedding ?
I tried looking all over with no luck.
Your local Israeli embassy (assuming it qualifies)
Dan people might use exgingy experience and not take test before flying to Israel… and come complaining to you
It’s a data point, not a rule.
@Dan bezH we WILL still be able to go to Israel in 2020!!
It ain’t over till it’s over 😉
The pronunciation of “Etihad” in English as it is marketed in that video clip and across the world is to “westernize” the name. As you can clearly hear from the Arabic pronunciation, it doesn’t sound anything like the English one. And the spelling in Hebrew on the website is to correspond to the correct pronunciation and spelling, which in Hebrew would be with the letter Chet (ח) (to correspond to the Arabic letter ح). There’s no guttural “h” in English but there is of course one in Hebrew, and blindly translating the “h” to a hei (ה) would have been incorrect.
Just saying, the words Inshallah while sometimes disturbing, are akin to saying with G-ds help. They are not stating allegiance to any particular G-d or religion. I have heard it used by religious Jews that came from an Arab Country.
Indeed.
And it was said first by the Israeli controller and then repeated by the Etihad pilot.
Correct. My family used this word regularly. Any Arab speaking Jew would use this word. Same as using Allah for G-d, which we also do
Looks like Israir only added business class to one of their planes. Your article implies it’s available for sale on regularly scheduled flights, I wouldn’t expect that.
Shocked Israel is now starting to accept antibody tests, as antibodies start to become more iffy.
Have people with detectible IgG titers become reinfected? I’m under the impression that their IgG titers dropped to nil.
@dan if I go to Israel as a student (I have a permit) is there any way I can be exempted from quarantine?
No – why should you be exempted?
is this Antibody Tests that are Now Accepted for foreign nationals or only Israeli’s?
” foreign nationals are still banned from entry”
Israel had accepted antibodies to end quarantine early only if you retested in Israel.
But now Israel is no longer accepting antibodies…
Not sure where to post this. Family member left to seminary Sunday from EWR – United with stop over in Toronto (Air Canada) When she got to the gate at the Air Canada, they denied her papers & told nothing to do. To make a long story short they closed the lights on her in the terminal & told her to use her israel ticket for the way back to EWR – she didnt per her travel agent & only helped her board the last plane that day after she yelled at one guy that he better hold that plane when he closed the lights. She ended up getting back to EWR (after paying $350) & got a new flight the next day with United & they told her their was nothing wrong with her papers (Quarantine papers for when she arrives in Israel). There is a suspicion of her luggage having been left in Newark & that’s why denied the papers. Has anyone else had this experience & any suggestions of getting refunded for the first flight, aggravation, frustration & lack of communication & having to end up spending 3 days traveling until arrived in Israel this morning.
EL AL sent out official emails regarding the Status extensions + more:
https://forums.dansdeals.com/index.php?topic=627.msg2340569#msg2340569