British Airways said Tuesday that it has temporarily suspended flights to and from Liberia and Sierra Leone until Aug. 31 amid what health authorities have called the largest outbreak of the deadly Ebola disease ever. "The safety of our customers, crew and ground teams is always our top priority and we will keep the route under constant review in the coming weeks," a statement from the U.K. carrier said. The airline added that customers on those routes could get a full refund for their tickets or rebook flights for a later date. So far, 887 people have died out of 1,603 total cases in the outbreak, which has raged across a swath of West Africa that includes Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday warned Americans against non-essential travel to those countries. Delta Airlines, which has flights to parts of West Africa, is allowing travelers to the region in the next two weeks to postpone their flights until the end of the month, The Associated Press reported.
IN-DEPTH
- Nancy Writebol, American Ebola Patient, Arrives in U.S.
- Saudi Arabia Tests Man for Ebola After Arriving from Africa
- The Man Who Survived Ebola
-- By Patrick Rizzo, NBC News
