Finally! Israel Will Drop In-Flight Masking, Pre-Flight, And Arrival COVID Testing And Quarantine!
Update, 5/16: Starting on 5/23, Israel will remove the in-flight mask mandate on flights to and from Israel. The only remaining Israeli COVID rule...
Israel Removes Pre-Flight PCR Testing Requirements For Visa Holders, But Not For Tourists
Chaim V'chessed reports that Israeli A-class visa holders, such as permanent residents, students, and their families, can now travel to Israel without a pre-flight...
[Flights Now Available For Purchase, Launch Scheduled For First Day Of Passover] For The First Time In 4 Decades, There Will Be Nonstop Flights...
Update: Flights are now available for purchase. Arkia launches service on April 16th with 2 daily E-195 flights and Israir launches service on April...
[New Requirement Announced] Finally! After 2 Years, Israel Will Reopen To Unvaccinated Tourists!
Update, 3/2: The Israeli Ministry of Health site now says that starting on March 8th, foreign nationals will need to have travel health insurance...
Mazel Tov: Israel Is Now Open For All Tourists! How Did You Do With Your Poll Guesses?
As previously reported, as of today Israel is open for all tourists for the first time since March 2020!
Tourists do still have to take...
Finally! Israel Will Reportedly Reopen To Unvaccinated Children In 2 Weeks!
Israel has been effectively closed to families with young children since March 2020.
But the country will reportedly reopen to unvaccinated children under the age...
[El Al Confirms They Will Preempt Delta In Boston!] WOW! Delta Will Add Another Tel Aviv Route, But It’s Not From Atlanta
Update, 1/27/22: El Al now officially confirms that they will resume Boston-Tel Aviv service on 3/27/22, as was reported here last October. The flights...
[Chaim V’Chessed Posts Updated Entry FAQ] A Reopening Israel Launches COVID Information Tourist Site, But Don’t Expect All The Information You Need
Update: After I wrote this yesterday, Chaim V'Chessed decided to put out their own updated FAQ of Israel's entry rules as they acknowledged the...
[Israel Expected To Abolish List Of Red Countries, Allow Vaccinated Tourists Again] 4 Weeks After Partially Reopening, Israel Closes The Doors To Non-Citizens Yet...
Update, 1/6: Delta and United announced that they will delay their flights from Tel Aviv to JFK/Newark tonight until after midnight so that Israelis...
Israir Ad Trolls Prime Minister’s Family For Family Vacation Abroad After Country Closes To Tourism; Is There Any Sanity Left In The Holy Land?
Earlier this week Israel closed their borders to foreign nationals in response to the COVID-19 omicron variant. The country was open for just 4...
[Flight Landed, No Entry Issues, But 3 Day Quarantine For Passengers] What Happens When The Airline Doesn’t Get The Memo From Israel? Behind The...
Update: The flight has landed and passengers have entered Israel without issue. However, Israel is emailing vaccinated passengers that arrived today that they will...
Royal Air Maroc Will Fly Between Casablanca And Tel Aviv Next Month
OneWorld carrier Royal Air Maroc was rumored to be launching service in January, but that was pushed off due to the pandemic.
Now they are...
Israel COVID Entry Updates: Antigen Tests, Infants To Enter Without Full Quarantine And Groups Without Booster Shots, And More
Israel reopened earlier this month for tourists who are fully vaccinated and had their most recent shot within the past 6 months.
Personally I had...
Israel Will Remain Closed To Most Foreign Nationals Through At Least November 15th
Update: Israel has updated their NOTAM (notice to airmen) extending restrictions on most foreign nationals through at least November 15th.
Foreigners with first degree relatives...
Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport Will Finally Get An Airport Hotel
Globes reports that Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Airport will finally get an airport hotel.
Brown Hotels Group will open a hotel on the western side...
[Update: Service Begins Next Month, Wide Open Award Space!] WOW! Goodbye Air Sinai? EgyptAir Applies To Fly 21 Weekly Flights Between Cairo And Tel...
Update: EgyptAir will begin flying between Cairo and Tel Aviv on A220s in full EgyptAir livery starting on October 3rd, spelling the end of...
Israel’s New Quarantine Avoidance Policies Leave Foreigners In The Dark Once Again
Israel's complicated new policy to avoid quarantine upon returning from abroad addresses all kinds of scenarios except one big one. What about foreign nationals?
As...
Israel Will Add Most Of The World To Mandatory Quarantine List, Removes UK, South Africa, And More Countries From Red List; When Do You...
Israel continues to make rapid changes to their arrival rules. Last week they added the US and a number of other countries to their...
Israel Publishes List Of Orange And Red Countries; El Al Will Allow Free Changes With Waived Fare Difference
Starting for arrivals on Wednesday, August 11th, Israel will include the US and many other countries on their orange list.
Countries on the orange list...
[Update: Reportedly Pushed Off To Next Wednesday] Effective Friday, The US Will Be Added Back Onto Israel’s List Of High Risk Countries
Update: Israel's channel 13 reports that the changes have been pushed off from Friday to next Wednesday.
https://twitter.com/newsisrael13/status/1422549873682010115
Israel's list of high risk countries will expand...
OUCH! Air France Flying Blue Hikes Mileage Rates To Tel Aviv By 30%-60% Without Warning
It's yet another reminder of why you should accumulate bank points over airline miles and never transfer bank points into miles until you're ready...
Hyatt Adds More SLH Hotels Bookable With Points, Including In Jerusalem!
Hyatt has added 20 new SLH hotels to their portfolio today.
The list includes their first Jerusalem hotel since the old Hyatt Regency Jerusalem on...
Some People Are Getting Quick Approvals From Israel’s New Entry Application Form!
For the past few months Israel had a messy process to apply for permission to enter the country. You had to email your request...
Israel Cuts Quarantine Time To 7 Days, Still Closed To Tourism
Despite rising COVID cases due to the Delta variant, Israel's coronavirus cabinet has voted to decrease quarantine time from 10-14 days to just 7...
[Update: Confirmed!] Will El Al And Etihad Codeshare And Have Mileage Reciprocity?
Update, 7/1/21: El Al and Etihad have launched codeshare sales on each other's flights, which will further expand starting in August.
Additionally the airlines confirm...
Hilton Will Bring LXR And Curio Brands To Israel!
Point hotels in Israel never seem to last long, but Hilton continues to bring their A game to the holy land.
They currently manage the...
Israel Won’t Reopen To Tourists In July, When Do You Think Israel Will Reopen?
Unfortunately, Israel has reportedly decided not to move forward with plans to reopen their borders to tourists on July 1st. The hope is to...
Israel Will Remain Closed To Most Foreign Nationals Through At Least July 26th
Update: The Israeli NOTAM banning foreign nationals from entry without special permission has been extended through at least July 26th.
A line item has also...
Finally! Israel Plans On Reopening To Vaccinated Tourists On July 1st!
A few weeks ago I wrote that Israel was hoping to reopen in July.
Interior Minister Aryeh Deri confirmed today that Israel is moving forward...
Israel Now Charging For COVID-19 PCRs For Travel, Ditches Outbound Health Forms; El Al Lounge Reopens
The ever changing rules when flying to or from Israel continue to change.
COVID-19 PCRs are required before your flight to Israel and again...
Finally! Israel Will Reopen To Vaccinated Tour Groups In June And To Individual Tourists In July
COVID cases in Israel have dropped close to nil and the country is continuing its reopening process.
As of June 1st nearly all restrictions will...
[Update: Roundup Of Cancelled American, Delta, And United Flights To Israel] After Rockets Fired By Terrorists From Gaza To Tel Aviv, Israel Closes Airspace,...
Update: Ben Gurion Airport has reopened, but US airlines are cancelling several flights to/from Israel, including:
5/11 United flight 140 from Chicago to Tel Aviv
5/11...
Israeli Consulate Of NY: Check The Status Of Your Application And Get Sent To The Back Of The Line!
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Reader Trip Report: Flying To Israel As A Foreign National Under A First Degree Relative Exemption
Finally! Israel Begins Reopening With...
Israel Will Allow Student Visa Holders To Fly Nonstop From The US To Israel Without Needing An Entry Permit
Israel remains closed to most foreign nationals, but is slowly opening back up again.
According to Chaim V'Chessed, starting tomorrow, student visa holders will be...
Delta Adding A 3rd Daily JFK-Tel Aviv Flight For September And October, Offering The Most Daily Seats Between The 2 Airports
Delta continues to grow in the increasingly competitive NYC-Tel Aviv market.
This month they are flying 10 weekly flights between JFK and Tel Aviv on...
Reader Trip Report: Flying To Israel As A Foreign National Under A First Degree Relative Exemption
Note: DDF member thaber recently flew to Israel under the first degree relative exemption and offered to share this trip report for the benefit...
El Al Offering Free Tickets To First Degree Relatives Of Those Who Passed Away From The Tragedy In Meron
It's with a heavy heart and many tears that I've watched the gut-wrenching videos and pictures of the tragic crush in Meron that has...
[Update: Apostille No Longer Required] Finally! Israel Begins Reopening With Entry Allowed For Vaccinated Or Recovered Relatives And More!
Update, 4/21: DDF member Solma and Amudim report that Israel has dropped the onerous requirement for an Apostille certified documents for most applications. Going...
Israel To Remain Closed To Most Foreign Nationals Through Shavuos And Then Will Reopen For Vaccinated Organized Tour Groups
Tourism Minister Orit Farkash-Hacohen and Health Minister Yuli Edelstein announced that Israel will continue the next phase in its reopening process on May 23rd...
IHG Losing 4 Hotels In Israel; Roundup Of Remaining Point Hotels In Israel
The pandemic has been tough on the hospitality industry worldwide, but especially in Israel where most foreign nationals have been locked out of the...
