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British Airways announced Tuesday that it has temporarily suspended flights to and from Liberia and Sierra Leone, two of the West African nations afflicted with the Ebola outbreak.

The suspension will remain in place until the end of August, “due to the deteriorating public health situation in both countries,” the airline said in a statement. “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.”

The airline is offering customers who already have tickets along those routes a full refund and the ability to re-book flights at a later date.

The Ebola virus has continued to spread in four West African nations including Liberia Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria. As of Aug. 1, there have been 273 deaths reported in Sierra Leone and 255 deaths reported in Liberia. Throughout the region, more than 1,600 cases of the disease have been reported.

Abby Phillip is a general assignment national reporter for the Washington Post. Before that, she covered politics at ABC News and Politico. She can be reached at

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customFields- published 1407256247/1407256247000/1407256247 tracking: {authors=Abby Phillip, blog_name=world, content_category=World, in_url_headline=british-airways-suspends-flights-to-liberia-and-sierra-leone-citing-ebola-concerns, post_id=514, section={section=world, subsection=null}, show_ads=true, show_comments=true} allow_comments: true published_date:Aug 5, 2014 4:30:47 PM close date: Aug 19, 2014 4:30:47 PM
British Airways suspends flights to Liberia and Sierra Leone, citing Ebola concerns