Clarion India
DUBAI — The UAE’s civil aviation authority has rubbished rumours regarding suspension of all flights to the country, as a measure to contain coronavirus.
In a statement issued on Sunday night, March 15, the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) refuted rumors circulating on social media about the suspension of all incoming and outgoing flights.
The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) refuted rumors circulating on social media about the suspension of all incoming and outgoing flights. The GCAA urges the public to refrain from spreading rumors and to obtain information from trusted sources. pic.twitter.com/bU0Bw64tTt
— GCAA UAE (@gcaauae) March 15, 2020
On Saturday, March 14, UAE temporarily suspended all flights to and from Lebanon, Turkey, Syria and Iraq as of March 17, 2020, until further notice.
The flight suspension is part of the precautionary measures being taken by the UAE to control the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Dubai-based Emirates airline also on March 15 put to rest news of it suspending flights from March 17.
In a tweet, the airline posted there was no truth to what it said were “baseless rumours” circulating on social media.
Emirates confirms that there is no truth to the rumors circulating on social media that the airline will be suspending all flights on 17 March. For latest flight updates please visit https://t.co/qZ7DQK19YZ
— Emirates Airline (@emirates) March 15, 2020
The GCAA urged all passengers to check with their respective airlines for flight status updates on affected routes in order to reschedule their flights and ensure their safe return to their final destinations without any delay or other obligations, reports Gulf News.
Airline travel agencies in the UAE are seeing the brunt of coronavirus impact as they have been facing a spike in booking cancellations owing to more countries imposing travel restrictions.
Meanwhile, IATA said airlines worldwide could lose close to $30 billion in revenues this year from the coronavirus outbreak, with $12.8 billion borne by Chinese carriers alone.
The $30 billion estimate represents a 4.7 per cent hit to global demand from a year before.
