Iran: Flight Suspension to Britain Extended as Air Travel to Iraq Banned

Suspension of flights to and from Britain have been extended until May 1, over the new Covid-19 strain in that country, according to the spokesman of the Islamic Republic of Iran Civil Aviation Organization.
“After three months of suspensions, CAO and the National Coronavirus Headquarters decided to again extend the period,” Mohammad Hassan Zibakhsh was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency. 
Suspensions were initially placed on Dec. 22, 2020, and were to last for a fortnight only.
Similar measures have been taken by some European Union member states to protect their citizens from contracting the new mutation of Covid-19, which is said to be 70% more transmissible.
Moreover, all flights to and from Iraq have been suspended from March 14 to 30 for a period of 17 days, CAO announced on Sunday.
This suspension, according to CAO, has also been put in place over the new strain of the Covid-19 virus in the neighboring country.
Zibakhsh noted that airlines can schedule flights to take back Iranian and Iraqi residents to their respective countries.
“All passengers traveling to Iran, need to have a negative PRC test on them before boarding flights,” he added.  
The official also said that the Iranian government has suspended flights to and from 31 high-risk countries, namely South Africa, Angola, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Britain, Burundi, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Eswatini, French Guinea, Lesotho, Guyana, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Rwanda, Seychelles, Suriname, Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela, Zambia and Zimbabwe.