--- title: Ebola Outbreak: British Airways Cancels West Africa Flights description: British Airways has suspended flights from London to Sierra Leone and Liberia, which are struggling to contain an Ebola outbreak canonical: https://time.com/3082936/ebola-africa-british-airways/ author: Dan Kedmey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-05T17:42:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:05:34.064Z article:section: Health og:title: Ebola Outbreak: British Airways Cancels West Africa Flights og:description: British Airways has suspended flights from London to Sierra Leone and Liberia, which are struggling to contain an Ebola outbreak og:url: https://time.com/3082936/ebola-africa-british-airways/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ddae95672433109/69869e7c13c79f4a9b19358f/107155146.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2951 og:image:height: 1660 og:image:alt: A British Airways aircraft taxis past ot og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ebola Outbreak: British Airways Cancels West Africa Flights twitter:description: British Airways has suspended flights from London to Sierra Leone and Liberia, which are struggling to contain an Ebola outbreak twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ddae95672433109/69869e7c13c79f4a9b19358f/107155146.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # British Airways Cancels West Africa Flights Amid Ebola Outbreak > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=f9fb7156-aaca-4367-a715-5e28a040e307&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: What We Know About The ‘Secret’ Ebola Serum [Watch (HLS stream): What We Know About The ‘Secret’ Ebola Serum](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/N33O86WL.m3u8) (1:37)  _Published 2014-08-05. The two Americans infected with Ebola received a dose of experimental serum, and the results are encouraging. But the serum hasn’t been approved by the FDA or even undergone human testing._  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Aug 5, 2014 5:42 PM UTC  A British Airways aircraft at Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport in west London, on July 30, 2010. A British Airways aircraft at Terminal 5 of Heathrow Airport in west London, on July 30, 2010. BEN STANSALL—AFP/Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Aug 5, 2014 5:42 PM UTC British Airways has suspended flight service to two West African countries that have been at the center of the ongoing Ebola outbreak, the carrier announced Tuesday. The airline canceled all scheduled flights from London to Sierra Leone and Liberia “due to the deteriorating public health situation in both countries,” British Airways said in a statement. Passengers on those flights would be offered full refunds or the opportunity to rebook flights after Aug. 31, when flight service is expected to resume. “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,” said company spokesperson Caroline Titmuss. British Airways runs four flights a week between London Heathrow Airport and the affected countries. The move comes on the heels of similar decisions by Emirates Airlines and Arik Air, Nigeria’s largest carrier, to suspend flight service to affected countries, where 729 people have died and a further 1,323 have been suspected or confirmed of contracting the virus, according to the World Health Organization. British Airways said it would continue monitoring the outbreak before going forward with its decision to resume service. “This is an evolving situation,” Titmuss said, “and we’ll just make decisions based on the information that’s coming from the World Health Organization.” ## Transcript The two Americans infected with Ebola received a dose of experimental serum and the results are encouraging. News casts even show Kent Brantley walking into Emory university hospital in Atlanta after he was flown back to the US for treatment. Nancy Right received two doses of the same serum and although she hasn't shown as much improvement as Brantley she did get well enough to allow doctors. To transfer her to Emory Hospital as well. So, what's the story behind this experimental treatment. The serum was developed by Mapp Biopharmaceutical and has not yet been approved for use by the FDA. It hasn't even undergone human testing, which makes Brantly and Writebol. The first people to receive the drug. The drug called ZMapp is one of the first treatments to show promise combatting Ebola. It works by preventing the virus from entering and infecting new cells. Normally it would be illegal to administer an untested drug but CNN speculates this case. Falls under the FDA's companionate use regulation, which allows for drugs such as this one to be used outside of clinical trials. It's unclear how much of this serum exists right now. ABC reports that when the three doses where shipped to Liberia, doctors weren't even sure if there would be enough for the two patients. However, the defense rep reduction agency announced it will increase funding for the MAPP Biopharmaceutical. To further develop the drug. There is currently no time table for when the drug will be formally tested. So, it's not clear when the serum will become more widely available or whether it could have an impact on the Ebola outbreak in West Africa that has killed at least eight- hundred people so far. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3082936/ebola-africa-british-airways/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3082936/ebola-africa-british-airways/"},"headline":"British Airways Cancels West Africa Flights Amid Ebola Outbreak","datePublished":"2014-08-05T17:42:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:05:34.064Z","description":"Flights to Sierra Leone and Liberia have been suspended due to a \"deteriorating public health situation\"","url":"https://time.com/3082936/ebola-africa-british-airways/","keywords":["Infectious Disease","Companies","ebola"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ddae95672433109/69869e7c13c79f4a9b19358f/107155146.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3ddae95672433109/69869e7c13c79f4a9b19358f/107155146.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"A British Airways aircraft taxis past ot","caption":"A British Airways aircraft taxis past ot","creditText":"BEN STANSALL—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/infectious-disease/","name":"Infectious Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3082936/ebola-africa-british-airways/","name":"British Airways Cancels West Africa Flights Amid Ebola Outbreak"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"What We Know About The ‘Secret’ Ebola Serum","description":"The two Americans infected with Ebola received a dose of experimental serum, and the results are encouraging. 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