With travel bans in place at Israel's borders, and Scandinavian countries about to close their borders due to the coronavirus outbreak, Israeli travelers have found themselves stranded abroad.
On Wednesday, Sun d'Or – a subsidiary of Israel's national air carrier El Al – announced that it would be sending out a flight to bring Israelis in Scandinavia home. Some 100 Israelis arrived in Lapland a week ago.
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The good news for Israelis in Scandinavia comes after Foreign Minister Israel Katz on Tuesday announced that he had reached a deal with Israel's national air carrier El Al to fly home several hundred Israelis who are currently stranded in Peru due to Israel's coronavirus-related travel ban, with the government footing the bill.
"The necessary resources have been allotted and an agreement was reached about the company sending out a first place to bring home young Israelis who were there before the travel ban was put in place home," Katz said.
"Now, representatives of the Foreign Ministry will coordinate with the company [El Al] and Peruvian authorities to agree on a specific date for the flight. The young people will be flown back to Israel at no cost to them, thereby illustrating the principle of caring for each other in a time of national crisis, which Israel embraces.
"Now we are working on securing funds and arranging a second plane. I thank El Al for agreeing to my request and to join the national mission," Katz said.
Some 1,000 Israelis are currently in Peru. The first flight is scheduled for Thursday morning. The Israeli Embassy in Lima has undertaken to coordinate with local authorities to arrange police escorts to the flight.
El Al said that the Foreign Ministry would liaise between the company and the Peruvian authorities.
"As the national air carrier, El Al has a long history of helping in times of emergency, one that continues now, as well."
