An unidentified US Airways passenger caused panic among passengers and crew after calling out ‘I have Ebola’ on a flight to the Dominican Republic.
The man, who had been coughing during the flight from Philadelphia to Punta Cana, shouted ‘I’ve been to Africa’, shorting before landing.
Initial reports by the Dominican press and on social media said he also yelled, ‘I have Ebola!’
On landing, emergency personnel wearing blue hazmat suits boarded the plane and the passenger was taken to the airport’s medical centre for tests.
Medics verified that the passenger did not have a fever – a key early symptom of Ebola.
Paola Rainieri, vice president of marketing and communications for Grupo Punta Cana, which owns the airport, told reporters that the plane was held on the tarmac for nearly two hours until medical and airline officials determined there was no risk to the 200-plus passengers.
Rainieri described the incident as a ‘joke of poor taste’ by the passenger.
She said the passenger had filled out the questionnaire and noted that he had not been to Africa lately.
There have been no reported cases of Ebola in the Dominican Republic or elsewhere in the Caribbean and Latin America.
