Israel has administered a 4th vaccine dose to more than 500,000 people. (Photo: AP)
JERUSALEM, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Israel's three major airlines will receive 100 million U.S. dollars from the government to deal with the Omicron crisis, Israel's finance and transport ministries said in a joint statement on Sunday.
Under the plan, the Israeli government will offer El Al, Israir and Arkia airlines convertible bonds, which can be exchanged into shares, for three years without interest, at a total of 85 million dollars.
The government will also fund in advance for 20 years excess fuel and maintenance expenses related to the air defense systems installed on the planes, at a total of 15 million dollars for all three airlines.
Israel has seen a surge of COVID-19 cases caused by the outbreak of the Omicron variant.
