Second El Al Chartered Flight Brings Home 255 More Stranded Filipino Agri-Students from Israel

Agri-students line up for the security screening at the Ben Gurion Airport. (Tel Aviv PE photo)

TEL AVIV 23 October 2020 – The Philippine Embassy in Israel arranged the second El Al Airlines chartered direct flight to Manila from Tel Aviv which flew home the next batch of 255 more stranded Filipino agricultural students from Israel. The repatriation flight, coordinated by the Philippine Embassy and the MASHAV aid agency of Israel, arrived in Manila on 21 October 2020. The first chartered direct El Al repatriation flight brought home 260 students on 13 October 2020.

The returning students were part of an agricultural internship program called the Granot Agrostudies Program under the auspices of MASHAV, Israel’s agency for international development cooperation. The annual program has 30 participating Philippine State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) which send Filipino agricultural students to train in Israeli farms and learn the latest agricultural techniques and practices. The students started their internship in October 2019 and ended in September 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the current lockdown in Israel, their scheduled return flights were cancelled, causing them to be stranded in Israel for weeks.

Consul General Randy Arquiza, Assistance-To-Nationals Officer Emmanuel Arbado and Attache Jamelle Fabroa were at the Ben Gurion Airport to send off the students.

The last group of 57 students will fly on 23 October 2020 via a commercial flight.

During the pandemic, the Philippine Embassy has facilitated two repatriation flights of 91 overseas Filipinos (OFs) under the Voluntary Repatriation Program (VRP) of Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA) and the six repatriation flights of 599 agriculture students. 

The Philippine Embassy considers the agricultural internship program an important pillar of Philippines-Israel development cooperation in the agricultural sector. END

Philippine Consul General to Tel Aviv Randy Arquiza (right) briefs the students on the test and quarantine procedures upon arrival in Manila. (Tel Aviv PE photo)

ATN Officer Emmanuel Arbado (right) discusses with Ms. Inbal Shoval, Agrostudies COO, on the final list of students checking in for the El Al direct flight to Manila. (Tel Aviv PE photo)

Agri-students line up for check-in at the Ben Gurion Airport. (Tel Aviv PE photo)

For more information, visit https://www.telavivpe.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.philippine-embassy.org.il or https://www.facebook.com/PHinIsrael/.