Israel's cabinet approved additional state aid on Sunday to help bail out airlines suffering another pandemic blow with the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant, the finance and transportation ministries said.
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Total state aid would not exceed $85 million for all of Israel's carriers and would come in the form of three-year bonds which do not accrue interest, representing a $41 million addition to a similar package in November, the ministries said in a statement.
Israel's airlines – flag carrier El Al Israel Airlines Arkia and Israir – have been hit hard during the pandemic with the country's borders largely closed to foreign tourists since March 2020.
Earlier this month, Israel began admitting vaccinated foreigners, or those who have recovered from COVID-19, from countries deemed medium-risk and ended a so-called "red list" of destinations it deemed off-limits to Israeli citizens.
