Turkish Airlines is recommencing flights on its Tel Aviv - Istanbul route tomorrow with four flights over the next week.
From July 1, the Turkish carrier is currently offering 17 weekly flights between Tel Aviv and Istanbul. This is well short of the 10 daily flights offered on the Tel Aviv - Istanbul route before the Covid-19 crisis but still an optimistically high number considering that foreigners are barred from entering Israel while Israelis must self-isolate for 14 days when returning from abroad.
Most Israelis use Turkish Airlines for connection flights to elsewhere in the world. However, Turkey will allow Israelis (but not citizens of all countries) to enter without the need to isolate for 14 days. As with all airlines today, passengers will be not be allowed on flights if they have a temperature above 38° or other virus symptoms. They must show travel insurance before boarding and wear a mask at all times.
If passengers arrive in Istanbul with any symptoms they will be detained at the airport for a coronavirus test and given the results after three hours. If they test positive they will be treated at a nearby private hospital at the expense of the Turkish government.
Despite the strict travel restrictions in force in Israel, Turkish Airlines is only the latest carrier to restart regular scheduled flights to Ben Gurion airport. Other include Wizz Air, Delta, Aegean, Air Europe, Aeroflot and Air Canada. United and Ethiopian Airlines have continued flying throughout the crisis and El Al and Israir have been flying occasional flights worldwide according to demand.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 23, 2020
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2020