Turkey suspends Iran and Afghanistan flights

Flights halted as part of preventive measures against coronavirus

ANKARA:

Turkey on Sunday suspended flights from Iran and Afghanistan in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Transport and Infrastructure Ministry.

“Flights to Iran and Afghanistan from Turkey have been suspended by our government as part of preventive measures against coronavirus,” said the ministry in a statement.

The airline sector has been one of the hardest hit as countries lock down to curb the spread of the virus.

Since first appearing in China last December, coronavirus has spread to at least 188 countries and regions. The US, Brazil, India and Russia are currently the countries worst affected in the world.

The pandemic has killed nearly 603,000 people worldwide with almost 14.4 million confirmed cases, according to figures compiled by US’ Johns Hopkins University. Over 8 million people have recovered from the disease.