Peru has prevented some 600 post army Israelis from leaving the city of Cusco, to head to the country’s capital of Lima so they can board El Al planes back to Israel.
Peru has prevented some 600 post army Israelis from leaving the city of Cusco, to head to the country’s capital of Lima so they board El Al planes back to Israel.
The city is under closure due to the coronavirus epidemic and the airport is closed. No one, including foreign nationals, are allowed to leave.
Amsalem Tours had organized four domestic flights for the Israelis to Lima, but they were not allowed to board the planes.
Israelis were eventually asked to leave the area outside the airport and return early in the morning. They fear that their failure to fly out on Wednesday night means they will miss the El Al flights to Israel out of Lima.
Foreign Minister Israel Katz tweeted that he had spoken with his Peruvian counterpart and was working on seeking permission for them to leave.
“I just finished a conversation with Peru’s foreign minister Gustavo Meza Cuadra and asked him to permit the 550 Israelis staying in Cusco to fly to Lima, despite the closure imposed on Peru, so that they could join the rescue flights we are organizing to Israel tomorrow,” Katz wrote.
He said the Peruvian Foreign Minister “promised to talk to the appropriate officials and help solve the problem.”
The Foreign Ministry has urged all Israelis who want to leave Latin America to do so immediately or risk being stranded there until the Coronavirus emergency passes.
“As a result of the steps Latin American countries are taking to combat the corona epidemic, the transportation options, particularly outbound flights, are shrinking,” the Foreign Ministry said.
It recommends that “all Israeli citizens on the Latin American continent who intend to return to Israel, do so as early as possible” before “there is no option to leave at all.”
The Foreign Ministry suggested that they chose destinations where flight options still exist to return to Israel.
It spoke out after some 1,000 post army Israelis were stranded in Peru, a country in lockdown and from which there exists no commercial options to exit.
An air convoy of three El Al planes was scheduled to leave Israel late Wednesday night to rescue those Israelis and was reported to have taken off on Thursday morning, according to Ynet.
The 16 hour non-stop flight there and again on the return will be the longest in El Al’s history. The Israeli airline does not typically fly in and out of Peru.
The special flights offered for free to the young Israelis were arranged in a coordinated effort that involved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Israel Katz, El Al and Peruvian officials.
Tickets were sent to the passengers via Email based on a list provided by the Foreign Ministry.
“In times of crisis or emergency, EL AL does its utmost to offer rescue services and assistance,” the company’s CEO Gonen Usishkin said. El Al donated $50,000 of the flights and received donations from many companies including Shufersal, Bank Discount, Bank Leumi and the First International Bank of Israel.
Separately, Diesenhaus has organized a Friday flight for Israelis stranded in Brazil.
As reported by The Jerusalem Post