In
the wake of the global spread of the Covid-19, which has now hit The Gambia,
Brussels Airlines has announced that it will temporarily suspend all flights to
and from African countries including The Gambia as of 21 March until 19th April
2020.
In
this vein, its flight schedule will decrease in the course of this week, to reach
a temporary full suspension of the flights by Saturday.
“We have already started working on the
restart of our operations, planned on 20 April” says CEO Dieter Vranckx.
“The
decision of Brussels Airlines to temporarily suspend all its flights between 21
March and 20 April has also been taken following the measures imposed by
different authorities, such as the negative travel advice of the Belgian
authorities, which Brussels Airlines fully understands, and the increasing
number of national authorities in Europe and beyond who no longer allow flights
to their territory. As of today, 17 March, the airline will gradually reduce
its flight schedule until 20 March. From 21 March until 19 April included, all
flights will be suspended. A continued and extended goodwill policy for
customers is in place, offering them the opportunity to reschedule their
flights to a later date” the release added.
Brussels Airlines CEO Dieter Vranckx: “We will
continuously monitor the situation and communicate accordingly, planning a
restart of our operations on 20 April to welcome our guests on board again. As
a responsible company, we need to take the decision to temporarily cease our
operations. It will allow us to reduce the negative financial impact on our
company”.
“Passengers
on flights that were planned within the next days and are cancelled due to the
current extraordinary situation are automatically rebooked. Brussels Airlines
asks passengers with a flight now until Friday to check the status of their
rebooking at brusselsairlines.com under “My Booking”. Customers who have
provided their telephone number or e-mail address during the booking process,
as well as members of the frequent flyer program Miles & More, will be
automatically informed about changes in the flight program by SMS or e-mail.
Passengers whose scheduled flights do not take place in the next 4 days are
requested to refrain from contacting the Service Center in the coming days.
This way, they give the service center agents the opportunity to first take care
of those customers who have a prompt departure. Brussels Airlines is offering
all passengers an extended goodwill arrangement: Passengers have time until 1
June to decide on a new travel date and, if they choose, to change their ticket
to a different destination. Brussels Airlines puts all its efforts into
restarting its operations after the crisis” the release concludes.
