Emirates says three passengers, seven crew taken ill on Dubai-NY flight

Emirates airline said on Wednesday that 10 passengers on its flight number EK 203 were taken ill on a flight from Dubai to New York.

Local New York media had earlier reported that about 100 passengers were reported feeling ill.

Passengers “were immediately checked by local health authorities and those needing medical attention will be attended to,” said an airline spokeswoman in a statement.

Another media statement the airline later tweeted said: “Three passengers and seven crew were transferred to the hospital for further medical care and evaluation.”

“Emirates can confirm that all passengers have disembarked from flight #EK203. All passengers were screened by local health authorities prior to disembarkation.”

“All other #EK203 passengers were allowed to leave and clear customs,” the statement continued. “Our crew and on-ground staff extended full cooperation with the authorities during the onboard screenings and the aircraft has now been handed back to Emirates.”

The airline also said that due to the delay with #EK203, the return flight EK204 from New York JFK to Dubai will be delayed by approximately three hours. “Passengers with connecting flights in Dubai who are impacted by the delay will be assisted with rebookings by our local ground staff.”

“We apologize to our customers for any inconvenience caused. The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is always our top priority,” the airline said.

An NBC report said earlier that the plane landing at John F. Kennedy airport has been quarantined on the runway after many passengers reported feeling sick on board the flight, airport sources say.

It said that the flight landed at JFK Wednesday morning about 9:10 a.m. where Port Authority Police and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were waiting in a staging area to check passengers.

According to the report, the mayor's office confirmed on Twitter that a plane had landed at JFK with sickened passengers, saying the aircraft had been quarantined.