Passengers released after Emirates inflight illness
Three passengers and 7 crew members being treated at a hospital
Emirates airline yesterday said that all passengers on Flight EK203, which landed in New York with at least 521 on board around 9am, were allowed to leave by yesterday afternoon.
The flight was earlier quarantined at John F. Kennedy International Airport after some passengers became ill during the trip from Dubai.
All passengers were screened by local health authorities before disembarkation. An Emirates spokeswoman said three passengers and seven crew members were being treated at a hospital.
“Nine passengers underwent additional medical screening at the site near the aircraft and were released afterwards,” said the spokeswoman for Emirates. “The rest of the passengers were allowed to leave and clear customs.”
“Emirates crew and onground staff extended our full cooperation with the authorities during the on-board screenings and the aircraft has now been handed back to Emirates.”
Due to the delay, the return flight EK204 from JFK to Dubai was expected to be delayed by about three hours. Passengers with connecting flights in Dubai impacted by the delay would be assisted with rebookings by Emirates local ground staff, the Dubai Media Office said on its Twitter account.
It is unclear why the passengers became ill, but photos circulated on Twitter showed over a dozen police and emergency vehicles waiting metres away from the aircraft.
“The Emirates cabin crew were super-helpful, they were not in panic mode, which was amazing,” Diala Makki, 36, said in an interview outside John F. Kennedy Airport.