Analyses of the health advisory are ongoing. More details will be available over the next few days. – EU Read more: https://t.co/v8kYNX1v4N — EPA (@EPA) October 27, 2017
European Union health and safety officials today have ordered airlines to stop flights over the Mediterranean island of Malta after an elderly patient who arrived from the Canary Islands showed signs of an respiratory virus.
EU’s emergency air ban remains in place https://t.co/t65OLwsqp1 pic.twitter.com/akuxBSZs6j — Mashable (@mashable) October 27, 2017
European health authorities’ proposal to temporarily suspend flights over the Mediterranean, a key trans-Atlantic route, came after a ferry passenger on board the MV Salamis collapsed with respiratory problems in Iberia and was taken to a hospital in Malta.
The World Health Organization confirmed that the refugee made contact with a source from a country where the flu virus had been detected. The person infected was transferred to a local hospital in Malta, which is part of the European Union.
The UK Ministry of Defence said that an RAF Typhoon fighter jet, flying from RAF Lossiemouth in Scotland and heading for Dubai, departed before the EU order was announced.
The ban is currently in place for the whole of the week, according to the European Commission. Reuters contributed to this report.