Under COVID-19, Israel must see 'the world is Red', aviation official says

Transportation Minister Miri Regev instructed her ministry to produce a plan to resume flights between Israel, Greece, Cyprus and other “Green” states: those with a low coronavirus infection rate.

By HAGAY HACOHEN
El Al Israel Airlines planes are seen on the tarmac at Ben Gurion International airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel March 10, 2020. (photo credit: REUTERS/RONEN ZEVULUN)
El Al Israel Airlines planes are seen on the tarmac at Ben Gurion International airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel March 10, 2020.
(photo credit: REUTERS/RONEN ZEVULUN)
Flights to and from Israel were disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic as Israel limited the influx of foreign visitors in an attempt to curb the spread of COVID-19. Due to the high infection rate in the country, some nations currently refuse to allow Israelis in as they are deemed to be coming from a “Red” state. 
Despite this, 17,000 ultra-Orthodox students would be allowed to enter the country, even if they are not Israeli citizens to study in religious schools. They would be quarantined for two weeks like anyone else entering the country, and would learn in groups of six during that time.  
Many Israelis and Jewish people who live overseas visit Israel during the Jewish holidays. The Jewish New Year will fall on September 30; it is as yet unknown what policies will be introduced ahead of that date. 
Transportation Minister Miri Regev instructed her ministry to produce a plan to resume flights between Israel, Greece, Cyprus and other “Green” states, meaning states with a low coronavirus infection rate, the ministry reported in a press release on Tuesday.   
Pending approval from the Health Ministry, the plan would reduce the two-week quarantine period now requested of Israelis returning from Green states to just five days. Those landing from "Red states" will have to get checked in their country of origin. Regev’s plan, if approved, will allow Israelis to enjoy some of the remaining summertime abroad. 
“This whole model of seeing countries as red, yellow or green is no longer valid: The whole world is red,” an official in the field of aviation told The Jerusalem Post under condition of anonymity. “You depart to one country, and by the time you land it reports an outbreak. You go on vacation and, on the beach, you sit next to a person who arrived from a red state. He just coughed – what are you supposed to do?” 
Instead, the official suggested a universal policy composed of checks done 72 hours before flights at the country of origin and a check done upon landing at destination. 
“Jordan built a lab at Allenby Checkpoint which offers a check at the cost of roughly $100,” he said. “They ask you for your phone number and trust you to stick to the health instructions in the 24-hours it will take them to get back to you to say if you’re healthy or not.” 
The official warned that an innovative approach to insurance will also be needed to avoid people becoming sick, for example in Israel, and become a burden on health services outside their home countries.   
The Health Ministry, he said, objects as scientists warn of the upcoming winter and the unknown effect of COVID-19 combined with seasonal flu.

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“Even if a vaccine is created today,” he said, “it will take several years to inoculate the world population on the needed scale. What will you do during these years?”
He pointed to the Frankfurt airport, which reported roughly 600,000 passengers passing through in June instead of the usual figure of seven million, as the kind of damage the industry is now facing. 
“Ghost Flights,” he told the Post, meaning flights that depart with few passengers, became common as they “keep pilots in the air and save the cost of compensating passengers for tickets.”
Usually done by low-cost airlines, ghost flights mean passengers can’t ask for their money back because the flight departed. If they opted out because of health concerns, or for not wanting to spend two weeks in quarantine, that was their decision. 
El Al seeks to secure a $250 million loan from the Finance Ministry to reimburse clients for cancelled flights; its debt is roughly $300 million.


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