Man escorted from flight by authorities

• Source: Global Times
• [14:11 August 19 2010]
• Comments

A China Eastern Airlines plane at Pudong International Airport. A Japanese passenger on flight MU564 from New Delhi to Shanghai was quarantined by authorities Wednesday. Photo: IC

By Zhou Ping

The Shanghai Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau confirmed Wednesday that a Japanese man on a plane from New Delhi to Shanghai was escorted off by the bureau's staff after being found to have a high temperature, but the bureau  denied that it was related to the NDM-1 super bug, a form of bacteria that is highly resistant to antibiotics.

An anonymous source told the Global Times Wednesday that nearly 10 staff members with the inspection and quarantine bureau boarded China Eastern Airlines flight MU564 after it landed at around noon. The passengers on the plane, who numbered around 150, were all required to fill in a health declaration form handed out by the inspectors.

"About 30 minutes before we landed, it was announced that all passengers should stay seated on landing and prepare for an inspection. Once we landed, eight officers from the inspection and quarantine authority boarded the plane wearing masks," the source said.

According to the source, passengers were allowed to disembark after they had entered their contact details and health condition on their forms. However, the male Japanese passenger was escorted away by the inspection officers.

"The Japanese man had felt sick and bought medicine when he was in New Delhi," the source added.

"The inspection is routine. As the threat of swine flu has lessened, we've loosened the inspection procedure by not testing every single passenger, although we perform random checks of planes," a staffer from the press relations department of the bureau surnamed Tian told the Global Times Wednesday. He added that the case is still under investigation.

According to another member of staff from the bureau, who asked not to be named, the Japanese man told the inspection officers that he was feeling sick at the time of the check. "He said that he had suffered from airsickness and felt feverish," she said.

She added that flight crew will inform airport staff of any passengers that have reported feeling sick before landing. Inspectors from the inspection and quarantine bureau will then be called to board the plane. However, she would not confirm whether the Japanese passenger had notified flight crew of his sickness before landing.

According to her, the Japanese man was transferring at Shanghai on his way back to Japan.

"He was taken away, but it hasn't been recorded whether he was kept in Shanghai," she said.

It is routine for passengers who are exhibiting signs of illness to be sent for a health examination before they are released.

"We haven't been asked to keep a particular lookout for the NDM-1 super bug," she said.