In an effort to stem the spread of the deadly Coronavirus/Covid-19 pandemic, African governments have begun curbing international flight operations. Thus far, the move has affected several national carriers.
The list is as follows:
The Algerian Government has taken the decision to temporarily suspend all international flights to and from Algiers as of March 18, 2020. Air Algérie (AH, Algiers) has complied with the directive and will suspend its flights until further notice.
>>UPDATE 22MAR20 Tassili Airlines (SF, Algiers) has suspended all flights – international and domestic – effective Sunday, March 22.
The Angolan Government has suspended all international flights effective 0000L, March 20. The Ministry of Transport decision supersedes an earlier directive which prohibited the entry of passengers from China, Iran, South Korea, Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal. Affected by the move are TAAG Angola Airlines, Air France, Brussels Airlines, Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines, Kenya Airways, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa, Qatar Airways, Royal Air Maroc, South African Airways, TAP Air Portugal.
>>UPDATE 22MAR20 The Burkinabe Government has closed Ouagadougou and Bobo Dioulasso airports to all international traffic for a period of two weeks effective 0000L on Saturday, March 21. The measure does not affect domestic, military, or cargo flights. State-owned Air Burkina (2J, Ouagadougou) has moved to comply with the directive but has suspended all flights instead of only international ones.
Cameroon’s president, Paul Biya, has closed the country’s ports of entry and banned all passenger flights as of Wednesday, March 18, 2020. The ban does not affect cargo flights. Camair-Co (QC, Douala) is primarily affected by the move as are foreign carriers serving the West African state.
The Chadian Government has closed all airports and suspended all commercial flights, with the exception of cargo services, effective 0000L on Thursday, March 19. The moratorium will last for a period of two weeks.
Cabo Verde Airlines (VR, Praia) says it will suspend all flights from March 18 for a period of at least 30 days. The move comes after the archipelago’s government decided to ban all flights to Portugal as well as all European countries with Covid-19 cases, the United States of America, Brazil, Senegal, and Nigeria.
Congo (Democratic Republic of): >>UPDATE 19MAR20 President Felix Tshisekedi has proclaimed that, effective March 19, all flights from countries at risk of COVID-19 as well as those that have transited affected countries, have been suspended until further notice. Cargo aircraft will be allowed in however subject to crews being checked for the virus.
>>UPDATE 19MAR20 The Ivorian Government has announced that it will suspend some flights from 2359L on Friday, March 20, 2020. Ivorian Minister of Transport Amadou Koné said the West African state will ban passenger flights from, directly or indirectly, countries with more than 100 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Air Côte d’Ivoire (HF, Abidjan) has said its network continues to operate as normal save for the suspension of flights to Douala and Yaoundé Nsimalen (Cameroon), Bamako (Mali), Freetown (Sierra Leone), Niamey (Niger).
The Government of the Horn of Africa state has issued a statement in which it has informed all carriers that all international flights to/from Djibouti will be suspended from March 17 onwards. This affects Air Djibouti, Air France, Emirates, Ethiopian Airlines, Felix Airways, flydubai, Kenya Airways, Qatar Airways, Safe Air, and Turkish Airlines.
Egyptian prime minister Moustafa Madbouly announced that Egypt will be closing its airports and restricting air travel from 1200L on Thursday, March 19, until March 31 to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The measure will not affect domestic air services, medevac, or cargo flights, however. EgyptAir (MS, Cairo Int’l) has said it will facilitate return flights until the deadline.
The Equatoguinean Government has restricted the entry/exit of all international flights for a period of 30 days beginning March 15. State-owned CEIBA Intercontinental (C2, Malabo) has since confirmed the suspension of all regional and Madrid Barajas flights effective immediately. Domestic operations remain unaffected, however. Privately-owned Cronos Airlines (C8, Malabo) is also affected by the moratorium.
The Gabonese Government has ordered all carriers operating international flights to/from the West African state to reduce their frequencies to a maximum of one flight per week effective immediately.
Afrijet Business Service (J7, Libreville) will, therefore, suspend all international flights effective 0000L on Thursday, March 19, 2020. Domestic flights are not, however, affected, and will continue as normal, the carrier said.
The Ghanaian Government has issued a travel advisory in which it « strongly discourages » travel to the country until further notice. In addition, effective March 15, only citizens and permanent residents will be allowed into Ghana in addition to travellers that have been to a country where less than 200 COVID-19 cases have been reported. The Ghana Civil Aviation Authority has suspended flights from all 26 Schengen countries thereby affecting Air France, British Airways (included), Brussels Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and TAP Air Portugal.
Jambojet (JM, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta) has suspended international flights effective immediately. According to the Kenya Airways low-cost affiliate, demand for travel to its only two foreign destinations – Entebbe/Kampala and Kigali – has cratered over the last few days given panic over the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it highlighted that it will still operate domestic flights to Malindi, Ukunda, Mombasa, Kisumu and Eldoret as scheduled.
The partially-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) has banned all international flights, except medevac/emergency, cargo, and domestic flights, with effect from March 16 onwards. However, Flightradar24 ADS-b data shows that as of Tuesday, March 17, international flights to the eastern region of Libya, which is under the control of the Libyan National Army, continue to operate.
The Malagasy Government has banned all flights to/from Europe effective March 19 until April 18. The 30-day embargo also affects flights to the French Indian Ocean possessions of Mayotte and La Reunion. Operators that are affected include Air Madagascar, Turkish Airlines, Air France, and Neos (serving Italy).
>>UPDATE 19MAR20 Air Madagascar daughter company Tsaradia (TZ, Antananarivo) is continuing to operate its domestic services on the island.
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has sealed off the country’s airports to all international traffic, bar cargo flights, from countries with recorded COVID-19 cases from Tuesday, March 17, until further notice. Sky Mali (Bamako) had planned to commence flight operations later this month. Given the new ban, this date has likely been postponed to later in the year.
The Mauritanian Government has banned all commercial flights into the West African state effective Tuesday, March 18. Mauritania Airlines (L6, Nouakchott) suspended flights on Monday ahead of the moratorium coming into effect.
The Mauritian authorities have extended travel restrictions for foreign nationals to Mauritius. Any foreign national having resided in or with a history of travel to and from Reunion Island (for travel between March 16 and 30), or any member state of the European Union, UK, Ireland, Switzerland and Norway (for travel between March 18 until April 1) within the last 14 days, will not be allowed entry or to transit in the Republic of Mauritius (including Rodrigues Island).
>>UPDATE 20MAR20 Air Mauritius (MK, Mauritius) is suspending all international operations until April 30. The carrier’s last flight will return from Paris CDG on March 29. Services to Rodrigues Island will remain unchanged until March 22. From March 23 until the end of April the carrier will operate 2x daily flights to the island from Mauritius. However, as the country moved to a two-week lockdown status from 0600L on March 20, reports on Defimedia.info suggested that even this domestic service would be withdrawn on March 22. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, Air Mauritius operates a fleet of 13 aircraft including two A319-100s, two A330-200s, two A330-900s, two A340-300s, two A350-900s and three ATR72-500s.
The Moroccan Government has banned all international passenger flights effective 2359L on Monday, March 16. The ban excludes overflights and cargo flights. Royal Air Maroc (AT, Casablanca Int’l) has already announced plans to ground the bulk of its fleet in a cost-saving measure.
>>UPDATE 22MAR20 RAM has also suspended all domestic flights as of 0001L, Saturday, March 21. The measure is effective until further notice. Air Arabia Maroc (3O, Casablanca Int’l) suspended flight operations on March 20.
Air Namibia (SW, Windhoek Int’l) has terminated its only long-haul route – Windhoek Int’l-Frankfurt Int’l – effective March 15 with operating crew and associated A330-200s having been withdrawn from service to undergo quarantine and disinfection. Namibia has also banned Condor, Ethiopian Airlines, and Qatar Airways following bans on flights from Germany, Ethiopia, and Qatar.
>>UPDATE 22MAR20 The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) says it is closing its international gateways to all outbound/inbound traffic except emergency and essential flights. Kano, Enugu, and Port Harcourt Omagwa were closed to international commercial traffic from 2300Z on Saturday, March 21 while Lagos and Abuja will follow from 2300Z on Monday, March 23. Domestic flights will, however, continue to operate as normal. Nigerian carriers that operate internationally include: Air Peace, Arik Air, Dana Air, and Overland Airways.
>>UPDATE 19MAR20 Rwanda’s Ministry of Health has suspended all international flights into and out of the Central African state effective 0000L, March 20 and valid for a period of 30 days. Only cargo and emergency flights will be allowed to land/take-off. RwandAir (WB, Kigali) has since announced it will suspend all flights for a period of 30 days.
>>UPDATE 19MAR20 The Senegalese Government has announced it will suspend all regional African and international flights effective March 20 through to April 18 inclusive. Air Sénégal (HC, Dakar Blaise Diagne Int’l) will, however, maintain daily domestic flights between Dakar Blaise Diagne Int’l and Ziguinchor. Transair (Senegal) (R2, Dakar Blaise Diagne Int’l) is also affected but, like the national carrier, will continue to operate domestically as well.
The Somali Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation has suspended international flights as of March 18, until further notice. The move does not affect humanitarian flights, however.
The South African Government has imposed a travel ban on foreign nationals from high-risk countries such as Italy, Iran, South Korea, Spain, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, and China as from March 18, 2020. Visas issued to visitors from those countries have been cancelled effective March 15 and previously granted visas are hereby revoked. The move will likely affect South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) and its flights to London Heathrow, Frankfurt Int’l, Munich, Washington Dulles, and New York JFK. In addition, South African citizens have been advised to refrain from all forms of travel to or through the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom and other identified high-risk countries such as China, Iran, and South Korea. This is effective immediately.
South African Express (XZ, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) has suspended all flights as of 0000L, March 18, until further notice. Although the COVID-19 crisis did the play a role in its accelerated demise, the bankrupt state-owned carrier has also been unable to access capital needed to relaunch its business following years of protracted losses. Last week, SA Express’s business rescue practitioners Phahlani Mkhombo and Daniel Terblanche lambasted the South African Department of Public Enterprises for interfering and undermining their efforts to restructure the state-owned airline. In court documents seen by the Daily Maverick newspaper, the BRPs said they had only been met by « open hostility and aggression » in their dealings with the government. They claimed that the DPE had engaged with creditor Ziegler SA to “persuade them to withdraw the business rescue application”, or remove the two BRPs from restructuring the airline. With no source of revenue, heavy debts, and recapitalisation in sight, SA Express faces the prospect of liquidation.
>>UPDATE 20MAR20 South African Airways (SAA) has announced that it will immediately suspend all international operations until May 31. “In support of efforts by government to deal with this pandemic, and in the best interests of our crew, passengers and the public, we have decided to suspend all international flights until 31 May 2020. It is all our responsibility, not just government, to curb further transmission of the virus. In addition, the increasing risks to our crew of contracting the virus including the possibility of being trapped in foreign destinations as a consequence of increasing travel bans cannot be ignored,” said SAA Acting Chief Executive Officer, Zuks Ramasia. The airline operates to three markets that form part of countries listed in the South African Government travel ban as high-risk areas. These are the US (Washington Dulles and New York JFK), the UK (London Heathrow) and Germany (Frankfurt Int’l and Munich). Despite SAA operating flights to Australia (Perth Int’l) and Brazil (Sao Paulo Guarulhos) which have not been declared high-risk, these services are also cancelled.
>>UPDATE 22MAR20 Comair (South Africa), which operates a British Airways franchise as well as the low-cost Kulula Air brand, says it has reinstated regional African flights with the exception of Mauritius after authorities there sealed off the island from international commercial traffic from March 19 to April 2, 2020. Last week, the privately-owned airline suspended flights to Windhoek Int’l, Harare Int’l, Victoria Falls, Mauritius, and Livingstone as a precautionary measure against COVID-19. It later rescinded the measure after consulting with the relevant authorities.
The Sudanese Government has closed Khartoum and all other airports around the country, including airstrips, effective March 16 until further notice. A NOTAM said only cargo flights and humanitarian flights are permitted to operate on a case by case basis subject to prior request. Domestic flights, including oil service flights, must obtain approval prior to operating.
>>UPDATE 20MAR20 The Tanzanian Government has closed Zanzibar to all scheduled leisure traffic effective March 20. A statement said, however, that tourist charter flights could still operate provided passengers were quarantined for 14 days. Mango Airlines (JE, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) has already suspended flights to the island, its only international route at present.
The Tunisian Government has banned all Chinese, South Korean, Iranian, and Italian citizens from entering the country effective March 15 until April 4. Those that have already secured passage within the next 14 days have been ordered to stay home. The ban also applies to those passengers transiting via Tunis or other Tunisian airports.
Tunisia has now closed its air and land borders and has suspended all international flights as of March 18. Only cargo and evacuation flights will be allowed to operate thereafter. This decision will primarily affect Air Tahiti Nui (TN, Papeete) and Nouvelair (BJ, Monastir), which combined command nearly 53% of weekly capacity in the peak season.
This article will be updated as events develop.
Editorial Comment: 15MAR20 – Added Namibia, Ghana, Djibouti, South Africa, Tunisia || 16MAR20 – Added Madagascar, Morocco, Egypt, Sudan || 17MAR20 – Added Tunisia, Mauritius, Gabon, Libya, Cabo Verde, Chad, Algeria || 18MAR20 – Added Jambojet, Somalia, South African Express, Cameroon, Mauritania, Mali, Ghana, Angola || 19MAR20 – Added Senegal, Rwanda, Congo (DR), Madagascar, Côte d’Ivoire || 20MAR20 – Air Mauritius, South African Airways || 22MAR20 – Morocco update, RAM, Air Arabia Maroc, Nigeria, Comair, Kulula, Burkina Faso, Tassili Airlines, Tanzania, Mango – 22.03.2020 – 18:54 UTC