Plane Carrying ‘Seriously Ill’ Passengers Lands at JFK Airport: Reports

Reports say 100 people are sick, while Emirates Airlines says only 10 are sick

A plane carrying dozens of “seriously ill” passengers has landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport on Sept. 5.

Emirates Flight 203 from Dubai arrived at JFK at 8:50 a.m. local time, ABC7 reported.

The pilot said that many of the passengers on board appeared to be sick with fevers over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and many were coughing, the report stated.

The plane is being kept away from JFK’s due to reports of as many as 100 sick people on the flight, according to ABC7. NBC New York reported that 100 of 500 passengers were sick.

Emirates airlines disputed the reports that 100 passengers were sick, saying that about 10 were treated.

“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,” the airline posted on Twitter on Sept. 5.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s spokesman, Eric Phillips, said that the flight stopped in Mecca, where there is a flu outbreak. “Flight started in Dubai and stopped in Mecca, which is experiencing a flu outbreak. Early indications point to that as a POSSIBILITY,” he tweeted.

At around 10:45 a.m. local time, he wrote: “Nobody is off the plane yet. Sick passengers are being triaged on plane. 521 aboard.”

The New York police counterterrorism division wrote on Twitter that it appeared to be a “medical situation.” The office added: “We are working with the Port Authority and our Federal partners.”

The passengers will be isolated from the airport and will be treated, the ABC report stated.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Port Authority Police are waiting at a staging area to check the passengers, NBC New York reported.

Other details about the incident are not clear.