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Israel offers peek at new normal for air travel during pandemic

According to an Israel Airports Authority pilot program, departing passengers will have to arrive at Ben-Gurion Airport four hours early, in a mask and without any escort, get checked for a fever, and disinfect their hands at several stations. 

by  Reuters and ILH Staff
Published on  05-15-2020 12:58
Last modified: 06-28-2020 10:56
Israel offers peek at new normal for air travel during pandemicReuters/Ronen Zvulun

Passengers wearing masks at the departures terminal at Ben-Gurion International Airport | File photo: Reuters/Ronen Zvulun

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Arrive four hours early, in a mask and without any escort. Get checked for a fever, disinfect your hands, watch out for the fleet of robotic cleaners, and again disinfect your hands.

This is what passengers leaving Israel should expect to encounter, according to a pilot program launched on Thursday, as air travel slowly returns to normal after weeks of very few flights.

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The idea, the Israel Airports Authority said, is to create a "coronavirus-free area" at Ben-Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, which is already well-known for its rigid security.

Similar measures aimed at preventing contagion could be adopted by airports around the world, and Israel has been conferring about them with authorities in Europe and the United States, said Shmuel Zakai, the airport's managing director.

Representatives from the French embassy, for example, check documents of French passengers at check-in so they do not have to enter quarantine after returning home.

"We will see more and more of this kind of process," Zakai said.

The challenge will be enacting policies that don't pose too heavy a burden on travelers.

"We would like to see again the smiles on the faces of the children, the smiles on the faces of the passengers," he said.

The new restrictions begin at the entrance to the terminal. Only boarding pass holders are allowed in and passengers are instructed to maintain social distancing. Check-in will be mostly digital to minimize interaction with the airport staff.

Hygiene stations and cleaning machines will be ubiquitous.

Incoming travelers will face even more hurdles, but with tourists not allowed into Israel until the end of the month, those measures have yet to be decided, the authority said.

The IAA is also trying to develop a platform to determine in real-time whether passengers have been tested for the virus or its antibodies.

Israel, with a population of about nine million, has reported 16,548 cases of the coronavirus and 264 deaths. With the new case rate leveling out, it has reopened shopping malls and markets and part of its educational system.

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