Gambia Bird (Banjul) has postponed the launch of flights to Conakry from Dakar Yoff-Léopold Sédar Senghor International and Bissau following reports of an outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in the Guinean capital. The routes were to launched on March 30.

Thomas Wazinski, Chief Executive Officer of Gambia Bird Airlines, said: “The launch on 30th March of our new services to/from Bissau, in Guinea Bissau, Lagos, in Nigeria, and Douala, in Cameroon, will proceed as planned," he said. “We will continue to liaise with the authorities in Conakry and will advise of the revised launch date as soon as possible.”

Ebola haemorrhagic fever (EHF) is a viral haemorrhagic fever and one of the most virulent viral diseases known to man. It was first identified in the western equatorial province of Sudan and in a nearby region of Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo) in 1976.

Gambia Bird had planned to launch two flights per week from Bissau and Dakar to Conakry using its A319-100s.