An Ebola joke plane incident occurred Wednesday when a man sneezed on a US Airways flight from Philadelphia to the Dominican Republic and made a really bad joke. After sneezing, the man proceeded with his Ebola joke and thought it funny to say "I have Ebola! You are all screwed," after the plane took off.
The man also yelled, "I've been to Africa!" an airport official told Fox News Latino, stirring panic and concern amongst the flight's 290 passengers.
The 54-year-old "joker", an American passenger who remains unidentified, was booted off the aircraft after the incident of his crude Ebola joke, according to the Dominican news outlet Diario Libre.
According to ABC News, as another passenger overheard his Ebola joke comment, and notified a flight attendant, who in turn alerted the captain.
Following protocol, the plane was stopped on the Punta Cana tarmac "due to a possible health issue on board," said a statement from the airline. Afterwards, a flight attendant told passengers to sit down and listen, the Washington Post reports.
US Airways Flight 845 was inspected by a four-person hazmat crew after the Ebola joke. The jet was isolated and inspected by the local health officials soon after its arrival in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, according to CNN.
The medical team wearing hazmat suits reportedly boarded the aircraft, moved down the aisle, and prepared to take the not-so-Ebola-infected passenger off the plane after the joke incident.
"I was just kidding. I ain't from Africa," said the passenger as the health crews got to him.
As is custom in a digital age, people immediately pulled out their cellphones to capture the scene following the joke. A child is even heard squealing in the background.
In the video, passengers are heard booing in the background while the man was eventually escorted off the jet, reports USA Today.
A spokesman for American Airlines, which has partnered with US Airways, reportedly acknowledged that the plane was inspected for Ebola on arrival due to the joke, which is "a possible health issue on board."
A medical check was conducted later on and the passenger proved negative when tested for the virus. He also had no fever even though he coughed on the flight. In addition, he also had never gone to Africa.
In the video taken by a passenger during the incident, the man is seen being taken out of the plane by medical officials.
"We delivered the passenger to the airline, which has its policy, but he will be returned to the United States, where he will be submitted to another rigorous check," Director Walter Zemialkowski of operations at the International Airport of Punta Cana told Diario Libre.
Other passengers were kept from leaving the plane for almost two hours following the Ebola joke occurrence. According to RT, they were eventually allowed to leave.
"We are following the direction of, and strictly adhering to, all Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines in place for airlines in response to the Ebola virus," the airline said in a statement pertaining to the events following the comment.
"The flight was checked by officials and cleared. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, but the safety of our customers and crews is our main priority," US Airways further said in the statement to Fox.
"It's going to look worse than it is," a flight attendant told passengers over the flight's PA system. "I've done this for 36 years. I think the man that has said this is an idiot, and I'll say that straight out. If you hear me, that's fine."
Eventually, Dominican Republic officials cleared the plane from the virus.
The recent Ebola joke plane incident is especially sensitive nowadays. Concern over the virus has escalated because the current situation in West Africa is considered to be the deadliest outbreak in history.
Also, this week, the first diagnosed US patient with Ebola has died. On Wednesday, the US announced that it would begin screening incoming travelers at five of its major airports.
Ebola cases worldwide have already topped 8,000, according to official data from the World Health Organization. Many cases could even be unreported, said health experts. Death toll of people with the virus is nearing 4,000, and officials added that numbers may continue to rise.
The Ebola comment was described by Paola Rainieri, vice president of marketing and communications for Grupo Puntacana, which owns the airport, as a "joke of poor taste" in a statement to Fox News Latino.
Footage of the Ebola joke plane incident captured by a passenger can be viewed below.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
