Flight From Hong Kong Quarantined on Runway
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
Nearly 300 passengers were quarantined on a runway at Newark Liberty International Airport for several hours yesterday before authorities determined that several sick passengers were afflicted with nothing more than a seasonal flu. Continental Flight 98, from Hong Kong, landed in New Jersey at 2 p.m., when emergency medical personnel boarded the plane to survey around 85 passengers “affected” by flu-like symptoms, authorities said. After consulting with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, passengers were released at 4 p.m. The airline said the flight departed from Hong Kong at 11 a.m. with seven sick passengers. During the flight, additional passengers became ill. Officials said the sick passengers were part of a group of around 80 tourists who sailed together on a cruise in Asia. They were flying to Montreal, Canada.
