European Commission proposes to suspend flights from southern Africa

The European Commission has proposed to suspend flights from the southern African region due to the discovery of a new variant of Covid-19, its president Ursula von der Leyen announced on Friday. Germany has already indicated that it will refuse foreign travelers from South Africa, the day after a similar decision from London.

“The European Commission will propose, in close coordination with Member States, to activate the emergency brake to interrupt air travel from the southern African region due to the B.1.1.529 variant,” Ursula tweeted von der Leyen.

She did not specify how many countries in southern Africa were concerned. The European executive is due to make a proposal to the representatives of the member states at a meeting scheduled for Friday. It will then be up to the Council of Europe to adopt such a recommendation. “The situation is changing very quickly. We want to make sure that we do our best to slow the spread of this variant, ”said a Commission spokesperson.