Dear Partners,
Good morning from Jerusalem.
We would like to take this opportunity to inform you about the latest updates & regulations issued by the Ministry of Health and the Interior Ministry of the State of Israel in regard to the CoronaVirus.
General Order by Ministry of Health (Update 26.02.2020 evening)
As a response to the current situation/spread of the CoronaVirus the Ministry of Health adjusted their orders accordingly:
Following foreign citizens (tourists) have been banned from entering Israel:
As per Sunday, March 01st, 2020 Israel will no longer allow Italian citizens or people that stayed in Italy, the last 14 days before entering Israel, to enter the country!
The entry ban for foreign citizens of countries (mentioned above) is applicable for all border crossings into Israel regardless of whether it is a land crossing or an airport.
This order is also applicable for all foreign citizens (not depending on citizenship) who have spent time in one of the above-mentioned countries during the last 14 days before their arrival to Israel.
So far not affected are transit passengers who stayed inside the airport (f.e. Hongkong, Seoul, Singapore) during the entire transit time.
Airline Situation
Cathay Pacific
In light of the current entry restrictions, Cathay Pacific decided to cease its Hongkong – Tel Aviv operations as of February 24 until at least March 28, 2020.
Further updates on Cathay Pacific Operations can be found here: https://www.cathaypacific.com/cx/en_GB/travel-information/travel-preparation/travel-advisories.html
EL AL Israel Airlines
EL AL is in constant contact with the Israeli Authorities. After ceasing operations to Beijing (extended until April 24, 2020) and Hongkong (until March 29, 2020).
So far EL AL only reduced their flight capacity to/from Bangkok from double daily to one flight a day. BUT they still might cease its Bangkok operations.
Further updates on EL AL Operations can be found here:
https://www.elal.com/en/About-ELAL/About-ELAL/News/Pages/Corona-Feb2020.aspx
We kindly ask you to inform all of your clients traveling to Israel during the upcoming weeks, about the immigration restrictions as we have already had cases where guests were denied entrance to Israel.
