Shannon Ratliff
There’s an eerie feeling in the air this morning at New York’s John F. Kennedy airport after an Emirates flight from Dubai was immediately quarantined after landing. Local news outlets began reporting about the plane’s quarantine early this morning after news broke regarding an airplane landing with 100 ill passengers onboard. Of the 500 total passengers on Emirates flight 203 from Dubai, many were confused about the presence of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with the help of Port Authority Police on the runway.
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NBC New York reports that the double-decker plane was scheduled to land at JFK. The mayor’s office confirmed the plane’s landing with ill passengers, noting the staging area of quarantine set up on the runway. About seven ambulances and units from Homeland Security were waiting for the plane when it touched down.
Statement: Emirates can confirm that about 10 passengers on #EK203 from Dubai to New York were taken ill. On arrival, as a precaution, they were attended to by local health authorities. All others will disembark shortly. The safety & care of our customers is our first priority.
— Emirates Airline (@emirates) September 5, 2018
Apparently, passengers reported feeling sick to the flight attendants on the Emirates plane on Wednesday morning. While there isn’t much information available on why these passengers began feeling ill, hopefully airport sources share more information soon on this developing story. Passengers onboard the plane are checking in on social media, asking the Emirates airline to explain the cause of the quarantined location on the runway.
Emirates Airline reports that about 10 passengers from flight EK203 on Airbus A380 were taken ill. Alex Macheras, an aviation analyst, tweeted that he learned from insider sources that the affected passengers are coughing and experiencing fevers over 100 degrees.
Update: According to a member of the Emirates flight crew communicating with air traffic control: “The affected passengers are coughing and have fevers over 100°F (37.7°C)” #EK203
— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) September 5, 2018
Because the plane is a double-decker, many passengers and crew members were unaware that there were sick passengers onboard, prompting many to question why the staging area was set up on the runway with CDC officials everywhere.
Often, if a situation, for example medical related, takes place on an #A380, only passengers in the same cabin section tend to be aware.
While the entire A380 Main Deck is Economy only, each cabin is partitioned by cabin walls, and 16 weighted, (noise reducing) curtains#EK203
— Alex Macheras (@AlexInAir) September 5, 2018
Here is a live video feed from NBC Connecticut that took place as the plane landed.
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High fevers are certainly a sign of infection or virus, and we hope that the sickened passengers recover quickly. We’ll update this story as more information becomes available.
