Passengers on a US Airways flight were detained for two hours after landing in Punta Cana so that a hazmat crew could investigate a passenger who reportedly joked about contracting Ebola during a recent visit to West Africa.
Footage of the incident was uploaded Thursday to YouTube by Patrick Narvaez, a passenger on board Flight 850 from Philadelphia, ABC News affiliate WYXZ-TV reported.
Here’s how Narvaez described what happened:
“Once we landed in Punta Cana we were told by the flight attendants that there was a situation and that a passenger may have been in Africa and had Ebola. She was certain it was a hoax but they did not take any chances and had a full hazmat crew board the plane and take the passenger off. It was later confirmed that the passenger was never in Africa and after 2hrs we were finally able to get off the plane.”
Prior to the hazmat crew’s investigation of the supposed Ebola victim, a flight attendant explained to passengers what was about to happen, claiming over the loudspeaker that the scare was most likely fake and encouraging fliers to mentally prepare themselves for the boarding.
“It’s going to look worse than it is,” the attendant said. “I really want you to remember … I’ve done this for 36 years. I think the man that said this is an idiot and I’ll say that straight out.”
