Scots airline passengers at centre of Ebola scare after their plane is quarantined at Aberdeen Airport

Aug 24, 2014 21:36

By Jane Hamilton

Medics in chemical suits board the plane

AIRLINE passengers in Scotland were at the centre of an Ebola scare after their plane was quarantined at Aberdeen airport.

Passengers on a British Airways flight from London were kept on the aircraft for over two hours after a 10-year-old girl, believed to be of Nigerian descent, was “violently sick” onboard the BA1314 service.

Environmental Health and trained infectious diseases medics immediately quarantined the aircraft until the sick passenger could be safely removed. It’s understood the girl travelled from infected regions in Africa.

Our photo shows medics in chemical suits board the plane while anxious passengers watched on in horror.

One man, whose pregnant daughter was on the flight, said: “We tried to get information but nobody was returning our calls.

“The passengers weren’t being told anything other than the girl was sick and quarantine measures were put in place.”
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/scots-airline-passengers-centre-ebola-4101296

He said the experience was stressful for the passengers and staff on the flight.

It is understood the woman has now been transferred to the infectious diseases unit at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary where further tests will be carried out.

The details of every passenger on the flight have been taken and they have all been advised of the symptoms of Ebola.

George Eady, duty manager at Aberdeen International Airport, said: “A young girl was violently sick on a flight from Heathrow.

“In any situation like this we enact our port health procedures to protect anyone on board and anyone meeting the flight.

“These procedures are purely precautionary.

“The girl was checked over by a specialist crew from the Scottish Ambulance Service, and has been taken to hospital for further checks.”

A spokesman for BA said: “A passenger was unwell on that flight. We apologise for the delay to those who were late disembarking.”

The spokesman added that it is a standard procedure for officials from the Port Health Authority to board a flight in circumstances where a passenger has fallen seriously ill.