The Health Ministry's decision to impose quarantine on Israelis returning from a host of countries worldwide and to bar foreigners entering Israel from Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland and Austria in an effort to stunt the spread of the coronavirus in Israel, has brought air traffic to a near halt.
Israelis returning from the above-mentioned countries, as well as from China, Japan, Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Thailand, and South Korea have been ordered into 14 days if home quarantine, and as of Sunday, nearly 70,000 Israelis have been shuttered at home.
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The massive plummet in demand for airline tickets, as well as Israel's strict travel advisories, has seen multiple international airlines suspend their flights to and from Israel.
Lufthansa Group airlines Austrian Air, Lufthansa, And Swiss Air said they would suspend all flights until at least March 28th.
Iberia followed, halting all flights between March 10th through at least March 20, Italian flag carrier Alitalia said it would suspend flights between March 11 and 28, and Air France said it would do the same.
The Health Ministry said over the weekend that it was considering adding the US states of Washington, New York, and California to the list of places requiring home quarantine.
Ministry Director General Moshe Bar Siman Tov told Channel 12 News that decisions regarding the United States were made on a state-by-state basis.
He noted that Norway, Belgium, and the Netherlands were also being considered as destinations that would require travelers to enter home quarantine.
All decisions of this nature are being made in close cooperation with the National Security Council, he noted.
As traffic at Israel's Ben-Gurion International Airport has dramatically diminished, the Israel Airports Authority has cut its forecast for passenger traffic in 2020 from 25.5 million to 24 million, similar to 2019, financial daily Globes, reported.
The IAA said that the countries included in the Health Ministry's travel advisory and quarantine orders make up 30% of passenger traffic at Israel's main gateway.
According to IAA data, so far, 530 flights to and from Ben Gurion Airport were canceled in January and February compared to 1,662 flights in the first week of March alone.
Also on Friday, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee announced that those who attended its annual AIPAC Policy Conference last week in Washington were potentially exposed to the coronavirus.
As of Saturday, three people who attended the conference tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
