Emirates flight in quarantine after ‘dozens’ of passengers fall sick
An Emirates airline flight from Dubai was quarantined at New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport this morning after passengers became ill during the flight.
Flight 203, a double-deck Airbus A380 carrying about 500 passengers, landed shortly after 9am (1pm GMT).
An airline spokeswoman said 10 passengers fell ill during the flight, although earlier reports in the US media had put the number closer to 100.
Sky News said there were reports of dozens of passengers being taken ‘seriously ill’, coughing and with fevers.
"Emirates can confirm that about 10 passengers on board flight EK203 from Dubai to New York were taken ill," the airline spokeswoman said. "On arrival at JFK, as a precaution, they were immediately checked by local health authorities and those needing medical attention will be attended to."
She said all other passengers would be allowed to leave the plane shortly.
Officials from the Port Authority Police Department and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were on scene, according to news station WNBC.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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