Scores of sick passengers, as Emirates airline quarantined in US

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, the airline and New York news media said according to Reuters.

Emirates flight 203, a double-deck Airbus A388 carrying about 500 passengers, landed shortly after 9am EDT (13:00 GMT), according to an airlines spokeswoman.

The spokeswoman said ten passengers fell ill on the flight from Dubai to New York, however US media put the number at 100.

“Emirates can confirm that about ten passengers on board flight EK203 from Dubai to New York were taken ill,” the 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.”

Officials from the Port Authority Police Department and the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention were on scene, according to news station WNBC, but did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The mayor’s office also did not respond to requests for comment.

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Larry Cohen, who identified himself as one of the passengers aboard the plane, uploaded photos on Twitter showing dozens of police and emergency vehicles waiting outside the plane on the tarmac.

“All we have been told is that there are some sick passengers and that we need to remain on board,” Cohen told Reuters via Twitter messaging.