The Ivory Coast government on Monday, August 11, 2014 joined the long list of countries that have banned flights from and to countries hit by Ebola virus as parts of preventive measures to curb the spread of the deadly virus.
In an official statement by the government, the country forbids all “carriers from transporting passengers” from all countries where cases of the virus has been reported.
The West African nation has also resolved to suspend its national airline, Air Cote d’Ivoire from flights to and from these locations until further notice.
The government did not name the countries but nearly 1,000 people have died from Ebola in Liberia, Sierre Leone, Guinea and Nigeria, which are all in West Africa.
The government said it has also decided to increase preventive measures at Abidjan airport where “all passengers on arrival will have to have their temperatures taken with an infrared thermometer.”
Pan-African airline Aruj and ASKY suspended all flights to and from the capitals of Liberia and Sierra Leone following the death of a Liberian passenger at the end of July in the Nigerian city of Lagos.
Chad on Saturday, August 9, 2014 suspended all flights from Nigeria.
Officials said Sunday, August 10, 2014 that Nigeria had stopped the Gambian national carrier, Gambia Bird Airlines, from flying into the country, alleging “unsatisfactory” measures by the airline to contain the spread of Ebola.
