The unnamed passenger, who doesn’t have Ebola, was escorted off the plane by officials as he declared: “I ain’t from Africa”. The man had reportedly been sneezing and coughing, which are said to be early signs of having the deadly virus, throughout the four-hour journey to Punta Cana.
A video captured by one of the other passengers shows four officers dressed in protective Hazmat (hazardous materials) suits boarding the flight, while a flight attendant tries to reassure fliers that the situation “looks worse than it really is”. She adds that, having worked in the airline industry for about 30 years, she was sure “the man who has said this [joke] is an idiot”.
Passengers sat near the man covered their faces and those filming the incident yelled at him while he was forced to remove his luggage from the overhead lockers and leave the plane. He was detained at Punta Cana International Airport where he underwent extensive medical checks and was interviewed by airport officials before it was confirmed he did not have Ebola. He is believed to have the flu, according to Walter Zemialkowski, the airport’s director of terminals and maintenance, the Daily Mail reports.
The man’s passport did not indicate he had made any recent trips to Africa, Alberto Smith, the director of operations at Punta Cana airport, told Acento.com.do.
“The closest he came to the continent was in 2012 when he visited Europe” said Mr Smith. “It was a false alarm set off by the passenger who is slightly unbalanced. [He] did it for attention.”
The scare follows US President Barack Obama’s recent call for an extra level of screening at five major US airports with a view to catch any travellers from Ebola-affected countries who may be carrying the disease.
British authorities said yesterday they would introduce “enhanced” screening of travellers for Ebola at Heathrow and Gatwick airports and Eurostar rail terminals.
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