Virus f light ‘full of Covidiots... and cabin crew couldn’t care less’
A PASSENGER claims a virus outbreak on a flight from the party island of Zante was most likely caused by ‘Covidiots’ and crew not enforcing mask rules.
Officials have traced 16 cases to the Tui plane, of which seven are thought to have been infectious on the three-and-a-half hour journey.
Stephanie Whitfield, 39, a passenger on the flight from Greece to Cardiff, claimed the cabin crew ‘couldn’t care less’ about face mask rules. She told BBC Radio 4’s Today: ‘The flight was full of selfish Covid-idiots and an inept crew.
‘Many passengers didn’t seem to know how to wear the masks correctly or they seemed to just disregard the rules really. Lots of the
‘Selfish passengers and inept staff’
people were wearing the masks underneath their noses or even underneath their chins.
‘They were taking the masks off to talk to friends and they were going up and down the aisles to talk to their friends without masks on.’
Asked how the crew dealt with it, Mrs Whitfield said: ‘The vast majority of people weren’t being spoken to, and there was a chap sat next to me who had his mask around his chin for the full flight, and the stewardess was talking to him and she didn’t say anything.’ All 193 passengers and crew on the August 25 flight from the Greek island have been told to self-isolate.
Mrs Whitfield and her husband had already decided to self-isolate and have been doing so since before the news about the flight emerged.
She said they have mild symptoms and will take a test today.
Dr Gwen Lowe, a consultant in communicable disease control for Public Health Wales, said: ‘In the last week we’ve had about 30 cases in Wales that have come back from Zante. Different flights on different days staying in different locations.
‘These are confirmed positive cases and we’re expecting that number to rise.’
Tui has launched an investigation. A spokesman said: ‘ The health and safety of passengers is always our priority and we are concerned to hear of Mrs Whitfield’s claims. Our crew are trained to the highest standards. Passengers are informed prior to travel and via PA announcements on the flight they have to wear masks throughout and are not allowed to move around the cabin.
‘Masks can only be removed when consuming food and drink. A full investigation is now under way as these concerns weren’t reported during the flight or before today.’
Earlier in August a group of up to 30 teenagers were feared to have Covid after returning from Zante.
At least 11, mostly from Plymouth, tested positive. Many of them showed no symptoms.
It is thought that the group visited a number of bars and restaurants once back home before they were diagnosed.