National air carrier El Al is setting up a pilot project to offer COVID tests during flights to prevent passengers from having to wait in long lines to be tested upon arrival at Ben-Gurion Airport.
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There have been many complaints about long lines at Ben-Gurion to take PCR tests, with passengers concerned about infection while waiting.
The pilot program was rolled out on Thursday on an El Al flight from New York to Tel Aviv with some 280 passengers on board. The tests cost 80 shekels ($25) for passengers who signed up for the service before the flight.
The project was conducted in coordination with the Health Ministry and the company Femi Premium, which manages COVID screening tests at Ben-Gurion, as well as with XpresCheck, an American company which carries out tests at JFK Airport in New York.
Once taken, the test kits were placed in special coolers for the duration of the flight. Each sample was marked with a bar code.
Starting Aug. 11, travelers arriving from the United States, France and some 20 other countries will have to isolate themselves for seven days upon arrival, even if they are vaccinated or have recovered from COVID-19.
This article was first published by i24NEWS
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