Thursday March 19, 2020
MOGADISHU (HOL) - The flight ban on international flights to Somalia took effect Thursday cutting off major traffic at Mogadishu’s Aden Adde Airport as the government aims to reduce import of the novel corona virus into the country.
The ban announced this week by the government following the arrival of the virus in the country affected both passenger and cargo flights.
Sources told HOL the last cargo flights carrying the leafy stimulant khat from Kenya landed Wednesday nights few hours before the ban came to effect.
Similarly, a ban on flights from Kenya, Somalia, China, Italy, Iran, France, South Korea and Spain will also took effect Thursday evening in the break-away region of Somaliland. According to the ban, flights from the affected countries will remain for 28 days.
Somalia also announced a 15 days closure of all learning institutions to curb the spread of the virus. Only one case of the COVID-19 virus has been reported in Somalia.