Uganda Airlines suspends flights over coronavirus

Uganda Airlines has announced it will suspend some of it’s of flights as a containment measure against the spread of the deadly coronavirus. Under the communicated arrangement by the airline, flights to Mogadishu, Kilimanjaro, Mombasa, Zanzibar and Nairobi will be affected.

Statement released by the airline on Tuesday evening further gives details of the specific flights to be affected by the development as follows; Uganda Airline flight no UR360/361 from Entebbe airport to Bujumbura will be suspended effective March 22 until further notice.

“Following the spread of COVID-19 and the control measures put in place by various countries to contain its spread; in compliance with health and safety guidelines, operational requirements and regulatory obligations, we wish to communicate changes to flight operations,” reads a statement.

The statement shows, Uganda Airlines’ flights to Kilimanjaro will be suspended effective March 20, 2020, Mombasa effective March 22, 2020 and Zanzibar effective March 23, 2020.

“Flight No. UR520/521 Entebbe to Mogadishu is suspended effective Thursday 19th March 2020. All operations to Somalia suspended until further notice. Reduced frequency for Entebbe, Nairobi, flight no UR206/207 (afternoon) will be suspended effective Monday 23rd March till further notice. The rest of the flights UR202/203 (morning) and UR204/205 (evening) will remain in operation,” further reads the statement.

Since its outbreak in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, about 200,000 people across over 152 countries have tested positive for coronavirus infection.

The virus, which started from China has since spread to different parts of the globe with Europe experiencing more damage after China. On Thursday, President Yoweri Museveni announced the closure of all schools, churches and ban of other mass gatherings for at least 32 days after the emergence of the pandemic in Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and DRC, the country’s neighbours.