By Jack Phillips
A sick passenger was met by emergency and fire crews after a Beijing-to-Boston flight landed at Logan Airport, officials said.
It’s not clear what symptoms were being exhibited by the person. It’s also unclear if the incident is related to the coronavirus outbreak in China that has prompted officials to quarantine the city of Wuhan.
The passenger traveled via a Hainan Airlines flight from Beijing airport officials told local news outlets.
“Massport Fire Rescue and Boston EMS responded to a report of a sick passenger at Terminal E. All safety protocols are being followed. We expect the passenger to be transported to a local hospital,” Massport, which runs Boston Logan Airport, said in a statement to the Boston Herald.
But a Boston EMS spokeswoman told the Herald that the sick passenger “refused transport” after an evaluation. The spokesperson said that the person didn’t meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) criteria used to refuse transport.
In nearby New Hampshire, two people who recently traveled to Wuhan developed respiratory symptoms and are currently undergoing testing for the virus, local station Boston25 reported.
The CDC said that coronavirus cases have been confirmed in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Australia, Cambodia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, the United States, and Vietnam.
It comes as several major airlines announced the cancelation of flights to and from China on Wednesday.
“Due to a significant decline in demand for travel to China, we are suspending some flights between our hub cities and Beijing, Hong Kong and Shanghai beginning Feb. 1 through Feb. 8,” United Airlines said in a statement. “We will continue to monitor the situation as it develops and will adjust our schedule as needed.”
American Airlines said in a statement, “Given the significant decline in demand for travel to and from China, American Airlines will suspend travel between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG) as well as LAX and Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) from Feb. 9 through March 27, 2020.… We will continue to review our flight schedules to ensure we can accommodate the needs of our customers and will make updates as needed.” It will continue its service from Los Angeles to Hong Kong and Dallas to China.
“We apologize to customers for the inconvenience, but the safety of our customers and crew is always our priority,” British Airways said in a statement on Wednesday, reported Reuters. “Customers due to travel to or from China in the coming days can find more information on BA.com.”
Germany’s Lufthansa also announced it would suspend all flights to China until Feb. 9. The decision also affects subsidiaries Swiss and Austrian Airlines.
“Lufthansa, SWISS, and Austrian Airlines will be flying to their respective destinations in China for one last time today. This is intended to give our guests the opportunity to take their planned flight and our crews to return to Germany, Switzerland, and Austria,” the firm wrote. “Austrian Airlines will suspend its flights to and from China (Beijing & Shanghai) until February 9th. For operational reasons, acceptance of bookings for flights to China will be suspended until the end of February.”
