The national carrier, RwandAir, says it is “monitoring the situation” in the UK where a new strain of Covid-19 pandemic has forced many airlines to suspend flights to the country, and countries to impose travel bans. Britain is experiencing a new variant of Covid-19 virus that is spreading rapidly. The virus may be 40-70 per cent more transmissible than the other variants in circulation, according to researchers. Britain alerted the World Health Organisation about the new variant and authorities are rushing to limit its spread. By December 21, Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Austria, Ireland, Denmark, Spain, and Italy had banned flights from Britain. Other countries were expected to follow suit. Other countries around the world like Israel, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Colombia, Morocco, Chile, Finland, and Argentina followed suit, imposing tighter restrictions on UK travellers. RwandAir Chief Executive Officer, Yvonne Makolo, told The New Times that the airline hadn’t still taken any decision to suspend flights to London capital, as it monitors the situation. “We’re currently monitoring the situation and consulting with the relevant stakeholders,” she said. RwandAir operates weekly commercial flights to Heathrow Airport in London. The carrier resumed flights in August after months of suspension due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, but the new strain of Covi-19 in the UK may force the airline to halt flight operations.
