Commercial Flight Forced To Divert, Be Inspected By Team Of Infectious Disease Specialists

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A United Airlines flight bound for Newark in the United States from Brussels, the capital of Belgium, was forced to divert to Dublin Airport in Ireland about an hour into its trip because of a suspected infectious disease on board.

According to Dublin Airport, United Airlines flight UA998 was diverted “due to reports of two separate incidents – a disruptive passenger and a suspected medical issue – on board.”

“Appropriate protocols were put in place by Dublin Airport Operations and Airport Police for the arrival of the aircraft and Gardai, National Ambulance Service and HSE [Health Service Executive] personnel met the aircraft on arrival.”

Once the Boeing 787-10 cane to a rest in a remote area of the airport, numerous emergency vehicles from Dublin Airport Police and Operations, national police and security service Gardai, the National Ambulance Service, and staff from the Health Service Executive could be seen swarming the aircraft.

United Airlines reported that the disruptive passenger and two others were removed from the plane, including both the “ill passenger” and a person traveling with them, according to Metro.

View From the Wing reported that the infectious disease team administered a test on the aircraft to the sick individual and determined that they did not have a serious spreadable disease, but they removed the passenger and their travel partner anyway.

The flight was eventually allowed to take off again for Newark, just around 6.5 hours later than had been anticipated.