Ben Gurion airport
Ben Gurion airportFlash 90

Israel's Health Ministry on Monday turned to the country's Transportation Ministry, demanding a complete cessation of the flights from India, Israel Hayom reported.

The Health Ministry demand is due to concerns regarding the Indian coronavirus variant, and the widescale spread of the pandemic in India.

The Transportation Ministry is currently examining the request and will publish its decision soon, Israel Hayom added.

Meanwhile, coronavirus czar Professor Nachman Ash does not believe that flights from India to Israel must be stopped.

Regardless, a meeting will be held Monday to discuss the issue of flights, and it will be attended, among others, by representatives of the Population and Immigration Authority and the Foreign Ministry.

On Sunday, explaining why a travel warning was issued but no other steps were taken, Prof. Ash said: "We understand that there are trips which are necessary. We think that practically, as well, it is hard to do these things. It will be possible to get around it if we ban travel to India."

"We prefer that things be clear, that they will not conceal arrival from certain countries, and that we be able to check," he said. "That is how we reached this agreement. It seems to me to be a plan that will offer relatively good protection. We are not in a place where we think we need to completely close borders from certain countries."