Turkish Airlines will ground all international flights except five routes from March 27 to April 17, the national flag carrier announced Sunday.
“As of March 27, we will suspend all our international flights except Hong Kong, Moscow, Addis Ababa, New York and Washington, until April 17,” the company’s CEO Bilal Eksi said on Twitter.
Cargo flights and domestic flights will continue, he added.
***Earlier, Turkey expanded the flight suspensions to 68 countries to help stem spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry announced on Saturday.
***The flight ban includes: Angola, Austria, Azerbaijan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Czechia, China, Colombia, Djibouti, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Georgia, Hungary, India, Italy, Iraq, Iran, Ireland, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Montenegro, Mongolia, Morocco, Moldova, Mauritania, Nepal, Niger, Norway, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Oman, the Philippines, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Taiwan, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, United Arab Emirates, the U.K, Ukraine.
***Meanwhile, Turkish Airlines on Saturday announced that the company suspended its services for passengers aged 65 or above as part of coronavirus measures of the country.
***The virus, which emerged in Wuhan, China last December, has spread to at least 169 countries and regions around the globe, according to data compiled by U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University.
***Out of nearly 322,000 confirmed cases, the death toll now exceeds 13,700, while nearly 95,000 have recovered.
***Italy, China, Iran, and Spain continue to be the most affected countries.
***Despite the rising number of cases, a vast majority of those infected by the virus suffer mild symptoms and recover.
