Under the current airport regulations, valid until March 20,  flights could be authorized only from a limited set of cities, including New York, Paris and Frankfurt. The change is expected to facilitate the return of Israelis abroad who wish to vote in the upcoming March 23 elections.

The ministers also considered increasing the cap on daily returnees but ultimately decided not to, due to the opposition of health officials. Moreover, under the new rules the Health Ministry retains the authority of canceling a specific flight if it is believed to endanger public health.