30 cruise ship passengers fall ill on Boeing plane flying home to Texas

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

A United Airlines flight from Canada to Texas descended into chaos on Friday after 30 passengers who had been on a cruise ship fell ill.

The Boeing 737 Max plane landed at the Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston at around 6pm on Friday where it was met by emergency responders from the Houston Fire Department.

Officials from the fire department noted that the passengers were exhibiting flu-like symptoms and complaining of nausea.

Three passengers were examined by first responders, but none needed medical assistance.

The plane was later withdrawn for deep cleaning.

United Airlines confirmed the incident, saying that various flyers from the cruise were ill and were aboard the same flight. It is not clear what caused the sudden symptoms in the passengers.

According to the airline, 163 passengers and six crew members had been on the flight, which took off from Vancouver.

It comes after 70 of the 290 passengers on board Condor airline Flight DE2315 fell ill while it was traveling from Mauritius to Frankfurt in May.

The plane was halfway through its journey to the German city when it became clear that many passengers on board were suffering from a bug, reporting symptoms including nausea and vomiting.

The aircraft landed in Frankfurt at around 5.33pm where it was greeted with a large contingent of emergency services after the crew had called ahead to alert officials on the ground of the unfolding emergency.

A spokesperson for the German airline confirmed the incident to the country’s Bild tabloid, adding that the crew was not affected by the illness.

“She [the pilot/crew] is also educated and trained for special situations like this,” the statement to the newspaper said.

“After carefully examining the overall situation, the flight continued. The aircraft landed safely in Frankfurt, where medical professionals were available to care for the affected guests.”

The cause of the sudden wave of illness was not confirmed. However, the airline noted that the food onboard would have been prepared in Mauritius.

“[We have] already initiated an investigation into the case to get to the bottom of the cause and to derive possible measures from it,” the spokesperson added.

“Condor is working closely with all responsible partners and authorities. There is currently no result available.”