UAE halts all flights to Iran on coronavirus concerns

The UAE has suspended all flights to and from Iran, effective immediately, official news agency WAM reported.

According to the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), all passenger and cargo aircraft traveling to and from Iran will be suspended for one week, and could be extended.

The move is amidst precautionary measures undertaken by the UAE to monitor and contain the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

The country has already suspended all flights to and from China, with the exception of Beijing.

Read more: UAE halts all flights to China, except Beijing

Iran is the epicenter of coronavirus in the Middle East, with 12 deaths and about 60 confirmed cases. Air Arabia and flydubai operate about 25 weekly flights to Iranian cities other than Tehran.

Emirates, the world’s biggest airline by international traffic, only flies to Tehran.

Bahrain on Monday temporarily banned flights to and from Dubai, the Middle East’s airline hub, and Sharjah in the UAE as Middle East countries reported more cases overnight.

Flights will be suspended for 48 hours, Bahrain’s state news agency reported.

Kuwait, which has already stopped flights to Iran, on Monday suspended travel to South Korea, Thailand, Italy and Iraq.

Kuwait has so far reported five confirmed coronavirus cases, while Oman and Bahrain have confirmed two and eight respectively.

The UAE, which in the past weeks reported 13 cases, is yet to provide an update.

With inputs from Bloomberg