Coronavirus fear: Police park vehicles on runway to stop landing of foreign planes

An interesting video showed Ecuador police blockaded a runway to stop landing of foreign planes at a major airport following a ban on international flights in view of coronavirus pandemic.

The footage shows hundreds of emergency service workers parked vehicles on the strip at the second biggest in the country, Jose Joaquin de Olmedo International airport, making it impossible for an aircraft to land.

It is being said that Guayaquil city mayor Cynthia Viteri reportedly ordered officers on to the tarmac to stop planes from Europe amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The move was understood to have been taken to stop an Iberia Airbus A340 travelling from Madrid and a KLM Boeing 777 from Amsterdam, Dailymail UK reported.

But local media claimed the planes landed in Quito with just crew members on-board. They had reportedly been sent to Ecuador to pick up their citizens in the country to take them home.

Prosecutors are believed to be investigating the incident, with the Ministry of Transport and Public Works blasting the Guayaquil City Council for clamping down on air travel.

Up to 170 passengers reportedly boarded the KLM plane in Quito but it is unclear if the two flights have returned to Europe.

Mayor Viteri, who is part of the conservative Social Christian Party party, claimed responsibility for the incident. She said she would do it again to protect the city from the arrival of people who may have caught coronavirus.

The politician claimed the planes had been about to land in the city and the crew members were scheduled to spend the night there before leaving the next day. She said Guyauquil is bringing in strict restrictions on movement to prevent the spread of the coronavirus as the city is one of the worst-affected in the country.

Ecuador has suffered 168 confirmed cases of the virus and three deaths. The aviation investigation ongoing.