British Airways is suspending all of its flights between London and two West African nations for the rest of the year as the region struggles to contain the worst ever outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus.
The airline initially said it was halting its service between Heathrow Airport and Liberia and Sierra Leone until the end of August due to ‘the deteriorating public health situation in both countries’, but it confirmed today that it is extending the suspension until Wednesday, December 31, 2014.
The decision was first announced by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in an updated travel advisory for Britons.
‘Customers with tickets on those routes are being offered a full refund or a range of rebooking options.’
British Airways, the national flag carrier for the UK, normally operates four flights a week between Heathrow Airport and Monrovia, Liberia, with a stopover in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
Air France has suspended its flights to and from Sierra Leone, and the French government has urged French nationals to leave Sierra Leone amid concerns about the epidemic that has killed more than 1,400 people in four countries.
Several airlines have stopped flying into and out of Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria as they grapple with the worst outbreak since the virus was first detected in 1976.
British Airways followed the lead of Emirates, which became the first major international airline to cancel flights, and African carriers Arik and ASKY.
The current outbreak is believed to have started in Guinea last December.
The World Health Organisation said the risk of transmission of Ebola virus disease during air travel is low and it does not recommend any ban on international travel or trade.
The FCO is encouraging people to refer to the National Travel Health Network and Centre’s website before travelling to the affected countries, but it has not implemented any travel restrictions.
The FCO issued a warning on its website: ‘You should carefully assess your need to travel to these countries. If you do decide to travel, you should make sure you have adequate arrangements in place for onward travel/exit and have adequate emergency health provision.’
Ebola is spread by close contact with organs or bodily fluids from an infected person or animal – living or dead – and there is no proven cure or vaccine.
The highly transmissible virus causes haemorrhagic fever that kills as many as 60 per cent to 80 per cent of the people it infects in Africa.
