Should We Be Worried? Several Flights Hit by Outbreaks of In-Flight Illness

Sick days: in-flight illness has made headlines multiple times within the week, as three separate instances of sickness prompted responses by local emergency services at PGF, JFK and LBA. At PGF, an ASL flight was evacuated over concerns that a child traveler from Algeria was infected with cholera.

In-flight illness has made the headlines multiple times within recent days, with three such incidents prompting responses by local emergency services at three different airports during the last week.

The latest instance occurred at France’s Perpignan–Rivesaltes Airport (PGF) on Wednesday, when an ASL Airlines flight arriving from the Algerian city of Oran was evacuated over fears that a child passenger was infected with cholera. The Daily Mail reports that, upon landing at PGF on Wednesday afternoon, the child was taken away by ambulance.

Commenting on the incident, Denis Leluc, a spokesperson for PGF, was quoted as saying, “There was a fear for the health of the child, who was evacuated to the city hospital for examination. There were 147 other passengers, as well as crew, and all of them were warned about the dangers of Cholera. The eight-year-old child is still undergoing tests.”

Those onboard were asked to disinfect their hands after leaving the plane, where their contact details were also taken as a precautionary measure.

Across the Atlantic at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), an Emirates A380 from Dubai was met at a remote location on the tarmac by officials from both the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the city’s Port Authority.

Local CBS affiliate WLNY-TV reports that the plane, Emirates Flight 203, landed on Wednesday morning at JFK, where the CDC confirmed that 100 passengers had been affected by illness. Ten are said to have been taken to local hospitals for treatment and the cause of the sickness has not been revealed.

Lastly, on Saturday, a Jet2 flight from the Spanish city of Reus was met by emergency medical services as it landed at Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) after multiple passengers fell violently ill during the course of the flight, the Telegraph reports. The incident, which involved LS298, occurred late on Saturday night and saw four passengers – all of whom are said to have been staying at the same hotel – fall ill.

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