Transport Ministry opening hotline to help Israelis stranded abroad return home

The Transportation Ministry is opening a hotline in conjunction with the IDF Home Front Command to help Israelis stranded abroad return home.

The phone hotline (077-7703003), available to the general public, is designated to provide information and assistance for Israelis who are seeking to return home and who meet certain criteria. The hotline will operate 24 hours a day during the week, on Friday until 1 p.m., and on Shabbat in “emergency mode.”

In the initial phase, service will be provided in Hebrew only.

An exceptions committee has been set up to review and prioritize exceptional and humanitarian requests by Israelis stranded abroad and help them fly back to Israel. The committee includes representatives from the Transportation Ministry, Foreign Ministry, the Home Front Command and the National Emergency Authority. Israelis will need to fill in this form to be considered by the committee.

Among the criteria are medical emergencies, highly pregnant women, a single parent with small children under the age of 12 in Israel, and minors without a parent.