Israeli insurance companies Harel, Migdal, and Clal, have leased a 14-seat private jet to bring home the healthy Israeli passengers that have been quarantined on the Diamond Princess cruise ship off the coast of Japan for the past two weeks due to an outbreak of the coronavirus.
“We are doing our utmost and working on several channels to bring the Israelis back to Israel as soon as possible,” said Yoel Amir, CEO of PassportCard, an overseas travel insurance company which is co-financing the jet. “The Thai aircraft is operational and will allow us to bring passengers to the country sooner. We are awaiting the final approval of all appointed officials.”
An earlier decision to lease a Turkish aircraft was dropped in favor of the Thai jet, which is better suited for the job due to its size and geographical location.
“We have been working with all of the tools at our disposal to find a way to assist those on the ship and bring them home to Israel. We have been working with the Foreign Ministry and the Health Ministry over the past two weeks to bring them all home. We will send the plane as soon as we are allowed to do so and we hope that the passengers will spend the coming Shabbat back in Israel.”
(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)
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