India suspends all flights originating from UK until Dec 31

FILE PHOTO: A British Airways plane taxis past tail fins of parked aircraft near Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport in London, Britain, March 14, 2020. REUTERS/Simon Dawson/File Photo

BENGALURU (Reuters) - India on Monday announced a suspension of all flights originating from the United Kingdom to the country until the end of the year, the aviation ministry said in a tweet.

The ban will come into effect on Wednesday and all passengers arriving from the UK before then will be tested on arrival at airports, the ministry said.

A number of European nations among others have shut off travel ties to the UK after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that a highly infectious new strain of the coronavirus was a danger to the country.

(Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar in Bengaluru; editing by Jason Neely)