Emirates jet quarantined at New York’s JFK after passengers fall ill

Nicolas Economou | NurPhoto | Getty Images

An Emirates Airbus A380 docked at Dusseldorf Airport in Germany on August 21, 2018. 

Federal health authorities and local police quarantined an Emirates Airline jumbo jet Wednesday morning in New York after passengers were reported ill on the flight from Dubai.

The Airbus A380 landed at 9:12 a.m. at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport with “multiple sick passengers,” according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which oversees the airport. About 10 passengers were reported sick on Flight 203 from Dubai to John F. Kennedy International Airport, Emirates said.

Upon landing, the Airbus A380, the world’s largest passenger jet, was met by ambulances and was parked away from terminals, so medical personnel from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention could provide medical assistance and assess the situation, the Port Authority said.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which processes passengers arriving from overseas, would admit the arriving travelers once they are cleared by the CDC, said Anthony Bucci, a spokesman for the agency. It was not immediately clear from what the passengers were suffering.

“We’re aware that flight from Saudi Arabia with passengers reporting unspecified illness,” a CDC spokeswoman said. The plane arrived from Dubai. However, it wasn’t immediately clear if the passengers began their travel from another destination.

About 10 sick passengers were taken to nearby Jamaica Hospital, and by late morning, about 250 passengers had gotten off the plane, said Eric Phillips, a spokesman for New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Statement: Emirates can confirm that about 10 passengers on #EK203 from Dubai to New York were taken ill. On arrival, as a precaution, they were attended to by local health authorities. All others will disembark shortly. The safety & care of our customers is our first priority