Dallas-To-Michigan Plane Held For 90 Minutes To Check Ill Travelers
GRAND RAPIDS (WWJ/AP) - Passengers aboard a Dallas-to-Michigan flight say they were kept inside an American Airlines plane for about 90 minutes while medical crews examined three women who were ill.
The women were returning Friday to Grand Rapids from a trip to an orphanage in Guatemala. Ford Airport spokeswoman Tara Hernandez said there was no Ebola threat, but a call was made to federal health officials.
Hernandez said the plane was kept away from the arrival gate as a precaution, as fire trucks and ambulances surrounded the aircraft.
Friends and relatives waiting for passengers were frustrated because no explanation was given, but Hernandez says authorities didn't want to cause alarm.
Peter Kobs, whose wife was among the ill being treated, told the Grand Rapids Press some people were starting to panic because they didn't know what was going on.
"What really upsets me is that we're sitting here for more than an hour waiting to hear what the heck is going on. Neither American Airlines nor the TSA sent a single person over to talk to us," he said.
Other passengers, like Michael Veen, thought the airline acted appropriately.
"I look at this as an alert status that basically just perpetuated into a good exercise," he said.
Hernandez apologized for any stress and panic the situation might have caused passengers and their relatives.
"A main thing at an airport is always safety and our crew did a great job following protocol," she said.
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