Turkish Airlines have announced the cancellation of flights to Nigeria as part of measures to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus (Covid-19).
In a statement on Tuesday, the airline said it was cancelling all flights to Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt.
The cancellation would start for flights originally scheduled to arrive Lagos on March 17, 23 and 29, and flights for Abuja scheduled for March 13, 16, 20, 25, 27 and April 1, 2020.
Flights for Port-Harcourt will not operate on March 11, 13, 18 and 25.
The airline did not say when it would re-commence flight operations to the country, stating it took action “in view of the coronavirus situation all over the world”.
The move has added credence to a forecast by International Air Transport Association (IATA) that airlines would make a loss of over $113 billion as a result of the virus.
Nigeria’s first index case of coronavirus, an Italian, came into the country aboard an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft.
Last week, Emirates asked staff to take unpaid leave for up to a month at a time due to the rapidly spreading disease that has led to flight cancellations around the world.
The airline has cancelled flights to Iran, Bahrain and to most of China because of the virus, and countries around the world have placed strict restrictions on entry of foreigners.
