Gambia Bird (Banjul) is to resume scheduled direct services from London Gatwick to the Sierra Leonean capital, Freetown, with effect from Friday, October 17. The carrier said it had held extensive consultations with Sierra Leonean government agencies, the UK Department for Transport and Public Health Service, and concerned aviation authorities assuring them that it had put in place "extensive safeguards" to protect the health and well-being of passengers and crew against the deadly Ebola virus which has now claimed over 4'000 lives throughout West Africa.
“It is vital that humanitarian aid, and the experts needed to deliver it, have reliable access to Sierra Leone in order to deal effectively with the current situation. It is also extremely important that the country's economy is given every opportunity to recover and that international businesses are able to contribute to that recovery by being able to travel to and from Freetown," Gambia Bird CEO, Thomas Wazinski, said.
As part of precautions, the Germania (Berlin Schönefeld) subsidiary says its aircraft will be subject to an intensive disinfection programme, both in-flight and on arrival.
Flights between the two countries were suspended in August when the outbreak began spreading to other regions in West Africa.
