FEAR OF EBOLA: Air France unions seek to stop flights to Guinea

Air France flight attendant unions on Friday called for a
halt to services to the Guinean capital Conakry due to
concerns about a "serious risk " of spreading Ebola .

The daily Air France Paris - Conakry flight " carries a serious
risk of spreading the epidemic , particularly in our country, "
read a statement from the two unions of flight crew and
commercial staff. They called for a closure of the route until the epidemic is under control. They also slammed what they called totally inappropriate protection from Air France -- which provided them with " a
simple pair of gloves" -- and called for more suitable
measures , in a letter to Transport Minister Alain Vidalies .
The unions underlined that other airlines, such as British
Airways and Emirates , had suspended flights to Conakry .
France will on Saturday start carrying out health checks on
travellers arriving from Guinea , one of the worst - hit nations
alongside Liberia and Sierra Leone .

Air France suspended flights to Sierra Leone at the end of
August , following previous union objections, but kept flying
to Conakry . The UN health agency WHO said Friday that 4 ,555 people
had died from Ebola out of a total of 9, 216 cases registered
in seven countries , as of October 14 .

Liberia is the worst - hit of all , with 4, 262 cases and 2 ,484
deaths , as of October 13. Guinea , where the epidemic
originated in December, had seen 1, 519 cases and 862
deaths as of October 14 .