Three passengers and seven crew on Dubai to New York flight fall ill and are sent to hospital
▶ Remaining travellers were allowed to clear customs after A380 was isolated at JFK
An Emirates Airline flight from Dubai was kept isolated at John F Kennedy Airport in New York yesterday after reports that some of the passengers onboard were sick.
Three passengers and seven crew members on flight EK203 were taken to hospital for evaluation and further treatment, Emirates said.
All of the passengers were screened by the health authorities before leaving the plane. Nine needed additional medical screening and were then released.
The passengers who were cleared were allowed to leave and clear Customs.
“Our crew and on-ground staff extended our full co-operation with the authorities during the onboard screenings and the aircraft has now been handed back to Emirates,” the airline said.
“We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused. The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is always our top priority.”
The flight was travelling from Dubai to New York and landed at 9am local time when some passengers were reported to have become ill.
Erin Sykes, a passenger from New York who was travelling on the flight, told The National that people on the plane “were coughing and were sick to their stomachs”.
“Most were sick well before the flight took off. It was obvious some should never had been allowed to board.
“They were coughing and not covering their mouths, and the hygiene was really bad.
“Then, other passengers started to get sick.”
Ms Sykes said there were no announcements about what was happening but that the temperature of passengers was checked as they left the aircraft.
Archaeologist Larry Coben, who was travelling on the plane, told his Twitter followers that the airliner was met by ambulances and police cars when it touched down.
Passengers were informed that some people had been taken ill. They were then asked to fill in a Centres for Disease Control and Prevention passenger information form.
Emirates expected a threehour delay to the returning flight as a result of the incident. The health agency told The
National: “CDC is aware of an Emirates flight from Dubai that arrived this morning at JFK.
“Approximately 100 passengers, including some crew on the flight, complained of illness including coughs and some with fever.
“CDC public health officers are working with port authority and other officials to evaluate passengers, including by taking their temperature and making arrangements for transport to local hospitals for those that need care.
“Passengers who are not ill will be allowed to continue with their travel plans, and if necessary will be followed up with by health officials. There were approximately 521 passengers on the flight.
“We will have more information as passengers and crew members are evaluated.”
The airliner was returned to the control of Emirates after medical checks were completed on the crew and passengers