Latest on Flights Suspension to Iran due to Coronavirus Outbreak

The United Arab Emirates announced it will evacuate its citizens from Iran, state news agency (WAM) reported on Monday. The agency added that this step comes amid the spread of coronavirus in a number of countries, and all the returning people will be quarantined and checked to guarantee their safety.

Canada is telling travelers from Iran to isolate themselves at home for 14 days because of the novel coronavirus, the same direction given to people arriving from Hubei, China, the epicenter of the outbreak, officials said on Monday. Canada had already advised citizens to avoid non-essential travel to Iran. “The rapid increase in cases in Iran and the number of recent Canadian cases linked to travelers coming from Iran is very concerning,” said Chief Medical Officer Theresa Tam, announcing the measure on a conference call with reporters. Canada has 27 confirmed cases of the virus, Tam said. All patients had traveled to affected areas or were close contacts of people who had.

Sweden’s Transport Agency said on Monday it had temporarily suspended Iran Air from conducting flights to and from Sweden due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. “It means that direct flights between Sweden and Iran will be stopped,” the Agency said. Earlier on Monday, the Public Health Agency had called on the agency to suspend Iran Air’s license saying authorities in there did not have the situation regarding the coronavirus under control.

The government of Tajikistan has instructed airlines and travel agencies to stop selling tickets to nationals of 35 countries including the United States, Britain, China, Japan and Iran, industry sources said on Monday.

Uzbekistan has suspended flights to and from Afghanistan, Iran, and Italy to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the Central Asian nation’s foreign ministry said on Monday.

Armenia will temporarily suspend its visa-free regime for Iranian citizens within the next five days, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said during a government meeting about coronavirus prevention on Monday.  Armenia reported its first coronavirus infection on Sunday, in a citizen returning from neighboring Iran, and on Monday said it would extend the closure of its border with Iran, which was announced on Feb. 23. Pashinyan did not say how long the additional extension would be.

Kazakhstan plans to suspend flights to Iran from March 1.

Angola will prohibit the entry of citizens from Iran and China, South Korea, Italy, Nigeria, Egypt and Algeria, if they travel directly from those countries.

Lebanon halted flights for non-residents from countries including China, Iran, Italy and South Korea, the transport ministry said on Feb. 28. The ban excludes Lebanese citizens and foreign residents of the country.

Tajikistan has suspended all flights to and from Iran until the virus situation there stabilizes, the Civil Aviation Agency said on Feb. 24.

Turkish Airlines extended a cancellation of flights to Iranian cities, with the exception of flights to Tehran, until March 10. Turkish commercial flights between Turkey and Iran are suspended until further notice. “The Iranian carriers will fly empty to Turkey and be permitted to carry passengers destined for Iran. Turkish passengers will not be transported on these flights,” Turkey’s Civil Aviation Authority announced on its Twitter account.

In the face of the coronavirus outbreak, SWISS International Airlines has extended its flight suspension to China and added Iran and Italy to the list of countries with no or limited service.

German airline group Lufthansa said on Monday that Tehran flights will be suspended until April 30th. - Reuters, The Local, Swiss Info