TEHRAN – The Iranian Civil Aviation Organization of Iran on Monday announced all flights to the country from Iraq have been suspended for a week to curb the spread of a Covid-19 strain.

The decision was made as a pre-emptive measure to protect the Iranian citizens against the variant which was first detected in Britain late last year.

The Civil Aviation Organization in a statement announced that all flights of Iranian and Iraqi airlines from Iraq were suspended for one week effective as of Mar. 14 due to the UK COVID-19 variant, Mehr reported.

Due to the outbreak of a new type of UK coronavirus and to observe necessary precautions and protect the health of citizens, effective measures have been taken in this regard, the statement added. Also, all domestic airlines are obliged to inform passengers of the case timely, the organization announced.

Late in February, the CAO suspended all flights to and from 32 countries due to the latest decision of the National Headquarters for Coronavirus Control. The restrictions limited travels between the Islamic Republic and England, Angola, Bolivia, Botswana, Burundi, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Eswatini, French Guinea, Lesotho, Guyana, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritania, Rwanda, Sicily, Suriname, Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Zambia.

For more than a year, the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 has brought the world to a standstill, and tourism has been the worst affected of all major economic sectors. World tourist arrivals fell by 72% over the first ten months of 2020, according to data compiled by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in December.

Restrictions on travel, low consumer confidence, and a global struggle to contain the coronavirus pandemic are amongst factors contributing to the worst year on record in the history of tourism. Iran has also suffered the same fate as its foreign arrivals plunged 72% during the first eight months of 2020 when compared to 2019.

AFM/