No Ebola at LAX, despite scare and precautionary measures
LatestVomiting on a plane used to be considered airsickness (we’ve all needed this). But now vomiting on a plane means you might have Ebola.
United Airlines flight 703 was diverted to a remote hangar at Los Angeles International Airport after a sick passenger became the subject of an argument between “two government agencies” that couldn’t decide how to handle the situation.
This scare adds to the swell of increasingly panicked reports about the spread of “the ISIS of biological agents,” FKA Ebola. As airports continue screening passengers at five major US airports, false alarms continue to pop up.
The risk for Ebola on UA703 was quickly ruled out, according to both the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and United Airlines.
While passengers were assured they were not at risk for Ebola, they were also informed that a psychiatrist had been made available.
Several passengers on flight UA703 live tweeted updates from inside the plane, providing a look at what went down once the plane landed at LAX.
After arriving at the gate, passengers remained on the plane while being redirected to another gate in order to accommodate a sick passenger. At this point, no mention of Ebola had been made:
Apparently the best way to get a sick person off a plane is to park in the middle of the tarmac and prevent anyone from leaving ever
— Noelle Stevenson (@Gingerhazing) October 12, 2014
We were AT THE GATE?? And they were like oh we definitely need to drive to a different gate. To meet the medics?? Because reasons????
— Noelle Stevenson (@Gingerhazing) October 12, 2014
The pilot then announced that the vomiting passenger “may or may not” have come into contact with “someone from Africa,” and that’s when the Ebola factor entered the equation:
@laura_hudson “one of the passengers is ill and has had contact with someone from Africa”
— Noelle Stevenson (@Gingerhazing) October 12, 2014
The plane relocated to a hangar and passengers waited onboard for nearly two hours while firefighters in hazmat suits prepared to board and deal with the sick woman:
The pilot blamed the delay on two dueling “government agencies” that couldn’t agree on how to handle the situation:
“We seem to have one governmental agency fighting with another about how to handle this” – pilot
— Noelle Stevenson (@Gingerhazing) October 12, 2014
Then came another announcement from the flight deck which was essentially: ‘Just kidding! But you may need a psychologist after this.’
“We have a doctor available and we have a psychiatrist available”
— Noelle Stevenson (@Gingerhazing) October 12, 2014
Passengers were allowed to deplane once the ill woman was removed.
Alexandra DiPalma is a producer for Fusion Lightworks, Fusion’s In-house Branded Content Agency.