After two years of changing restrictions on air travel due to the COVID pandemic, Israel on Tuesday allowed Israelis to travel to all destinations abroad, and eased restrictions on entry to Israel for foreign visitors.
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Starting Tuesday morning, all Israeli citizens – including children and individuals who have neither been vaccinated for or recovered from COVID – will be allowed to travel to any country willing to admit them and return to Israel without having to enter a full-length quarantine.
Beginning Tuesday, Israelis flying back home will no longer be required to undergo COVID tests and provide proof of a negative result to board their flight. Until the end of February, travelers to Israel needed to show a negative PCR test from72 hours or an antigen test from within 24 hours of their flights.
All Israelis returning from abroad will be required to meet the same regulations – undergo a COVID test upon landing at Ben-Gurion International Airport, followed by a quarantine of up to 24 hours or until a negative test result comes through.
However, most countries are still not admitted unvaccinated tourists or tourists who have not recovered from COVID, meaning that these travelers will have a relatively short list of destinations from which to choose. Countries open to unvaccinated tourists include Dubai, Mexico, England, Hungary, India, Italy, the Czech Republic, Iceland, Denmark, Georgia, and Turkey.
The US, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Thailand still insist on proof of vaccination and/or recovery from COVID.
With the removal of travel restrictions, there has been a spike in demand for vacations abroad, with reservations expected to jump around Passover and during the summer months.
Meanwhile, foreign tourists will be required to undergo an additional COVID test upon arrival in Israel, regardless of their vaccination status. Every foreign visits will need to show proof of a negative COVID test taken before their flight in addition to the mandatory test at the airport upon arrival. Like Israelis, tourists will need to remain in quarantine for 24 hours or until they are notified that their test results were negative.
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