The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed that over 100 passengers on Emirates Flight 203 from Dubai, UAE to New York had viral infections of some kind.
That flight had to be isolated Wednesday morning after it landed at JFK International Airport in New York, leaving passengers stuck together, and constantly exposed to sickness, for 13 hours.
"People were worried because they don't know what it is. So you getting down there and guys, they have masks on their noses and stuff like that. So it's like a plane from hell,” said Zeph Shamba, a passenger on the plane.
The flight was carrying more than 500 people, and the CDC has confirmed that at least 106 of them have a viral infection of some sort, ranging from the common cold to influenza. Passenger Erin Sykes said she knew some passengers were seriously ill during the flight.
"[Some passengers had] very, very deep, intense cough, violently sick, going into the bathroom a lot,” she said. Sykes is one of the passengers who criticized both the sick passengers for getting on the plane, and Emirates Airlines for letting them on.
"I think that there's a certain amount of personal responsibility,” she said, “but then also it's Emirates responsibility. As I was saying before, if you don't let a drunk person board a plane, why would you let somebody that is violently ill board a plane?"
Ten people on the plane were hospitalized, including seven crew members. The CDC is still awaiting final test results for some of the passengers.