Emirates flight quarantined in New York after passengers fall ill
At least 19 passengers become sick on 14-hour flight from Dubai with 10 hospitalised after landing at JFK airport.
An Emirates airliner carrying more than 500 passengers was quarantined on a New York City runway after reports of a large number of people falling ill on Wednesday.
At least 19 people on board the flight from Dubai were confirmed ill when the aircraft landed at John F Kennedy International Airport.
About 100 people complained of feeling sick on the flight from the Middle East, with symptoms including coughing and fever, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement.
Keep reading
list of 4 itemsAir Vanuatu goes into liquidation, thousands of passengers stranded
Boeing 737: Plane skids off runway in Senegal, tyre bursts in Turkey
India budget airline cancels more than 80 flights after crew call in sick
CDC health officers worked with other agencies to evaluate passengers, including taking temperatures and making arrangements for transport to hospitals, spokesman Benjamin Haynes said.
Ten people were taken to hospitals while the other nine declined treatment, said Raul Contreras, a spokesman for the New York City mayor’s office.
Diala Makki was on the aircraft when she learned from flight crew that a number of people had become sick.
“The Emirates cabin crew were super-helpful, they were not in panic mode, which was amazing,” said Makki.
Emirates Airline is wholly owned by the Investment Corporation of Dubai, which is controlled by Dubai’s government. It is the largest airline in the Middle East.
The CDC did not immediately respond to Al Jazeera’s request for comment.