Authorities Prepare for Full Reopening of Ben Gurion Airport on June 1

Israeli authorities are currently putting together a plan to have Ben Gurion Airport fully reopen to Israelis on June 1, Channel 12 reported Wednesday.

A meeting was held Tuesday between senior Health Ministry officials, the Airport Authority and other ministries on the outline for the opening of Ben Gurion Airport.

According to the plan, a list of “green countries” which currently enjoy low rates of virus cases and have laws requiring mask-wearing is being created. Among the destinations being considered for regular flights are Montenegro, Berlin, the Greek Islands, Georgia and Slovenia.

The plan will also see Israelis report in advance when they plan to fly. These passengers will be tested before flying and then tested again upon return, to ensure they haven’t caught the virus during their stay overseas.

It has not yet been decided whether the tests will be the regular coronavirus tests or serological checks.

Yisrael Hayom also reported Tuesday on the plan to reopen the airport, adding that under the plan, anyone who is not flying will be not able to enter the airport, and passengers will be required to arrive four hours before their flight. At the entrance to the terminal, passengers will be required to present both their tickets and their passports, and temperature will be checked. Every passenger will be required to wear a mask.

Any passenger who is found to have temperature will not be able to enter the airport. During the flight, passengers will maintain a distance of two meters from each other, and only nuclear families will be able to stand near each other. The check-in counters will serve only to send suitcases to the flights, and the trays in which passengers place personal objects before security checks will be sterilized often.

Already at the airport, markings of two meters have been made in order to maintain social distance between the passengers.

With regard to incoming passengers, the intention is to produce a corona-free standard. A passenger who arrives in Israel will have to perform a corona test or present valid test results, or confirmation that he is immune to the disease. A passenger who is found ill cannot enter the country and will be referred to medical authorities.

Currently, only Israelis and new immigrants can enter Israel and even they are sent for two-weeks isolation. At the beginning of the week, it was approved that incoming passengers can do home isolation instead of at hotels.

All flights will only take be held in Terminal 3 as Terminal 1 is currently closed.