Israel has dropped its requirement for on-arrival PCR tests after the Ministry of Health and the Airports Authority agreed new guidelines.
The decision was announced via a statement on the ministry’s Twitter account and comes into effect from May 20.
The statement reads: “Passengers landing at Ben Gurion Airport starting on May 20, 2022, will no longer be required to perform a PCR test.
“The decision was made in light of the decline in morbidity data.”
Israeli health and airport authorities agreed that foreigners flying to Israel from May 10 would be allowed to take an antigen test before boarding the aircraft, instead of a PCR test.
The test must be taken within 24 hours before departure.
Israel’s tourism minister Yoel Ravozov tweeted his support of the news, and Sharon Ehrlich Bershadsky, director of the Israel Tourism Office in London, said: “As consumer confidence grows in line with restrictions easing, it was important that we made the entry process as simple as possible for travellers whilst keeping health and safety a top priority.
“We are hopeful that the easing of on-arrival PCR tests will help encourage tourists to put Israel on their holiday lists this year.”
Elsewhere, Laos announced vaccinated travellers can travel into the country without any testing from Monday (May 9).