CORONAVIRUS: Arik suspends flights to West African countries

One of Nigeria’s foremost airlines, Arik Air, on Wednesday, suspended its flight services to all West African destinations following the continued spread of coronavirus.

According to the airline, the affected routes are Accra, Ghana; Monrovia, Liberia and Dakar, Senegal, adding that the temporary suspension of flights to all its West Coast destinations would become effective from March 23.

Arik, in a statement, said the management of the airline took the decision after a careful analysis of the novel COVID-19 which had been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation.

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The statement also quoted the Chief Executive Officer of Arik Air, Capt. Roy Ilegbodu, as saying the safety and well-being of the airline’s personnel and customers were paramount at this critical time, hence the decision to temporarily suspend flight services to the West Coast.

“We do not want to take chances and this is why we have taken this decision,” he said.

The airline however apologised to its customers, adding that it would cushion the effects of the travel ban on passengers whose travel plans may have been affected by the suspension of flights by ensuring a prompt refund of tickets.

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