UK should resume flights to Ebola-hit nations: parliamentary watchdog: TRFN

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Britain's decision to stop direct flights to Ebola-hit countries had "no scientific justification", likely increased the cost of dealing with the outbreak and should be reversed, a parliamentary watchdog said on Wednesday. Several airlines including British Airways and Emirates stopped flights last year to countries in West Africa affected by the worst outbreak of Ebola since the deadly virus was identified in 1976. In September, independent health advisers to the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded that there should be no general ban on travel or trade with Ebola-affected areas. WHO along with other agencies said the ban had hampered efforts to deal with the disease and made it hard for experts to reach victims. "The revocation of licences to carriers to fly direct to the region was a political decision with no basis in science and was inconsistent with World Health Organisation advice," said the Public Accounts Committee, which scrutinises government spending, in a report drawing on evidence from experts. "These (direct flights) should be restored as soon as possible." So far, nearly 9,000 people mainly in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia have died of Ebola out of more than 22,400 known cases, according to the WHO. Department of Transport officials were not immediately available for comment. BA, which suspended flights to and from Liberia and Sierra Leone last August, said it would continue to do so due to concerns about the public health situation in both countries. "We will keep the routes under review in the coming months," it said in a statement. The committee also criticised the Department for International Development (DFID) for failing to respond with enough urgency to the crisis. It said DFID should focus on bolstering healthcare systems in the region so they could cope better with future public health emergencies. DFID officials were not immediately available for comment.