Swine Flu Airline Scare: False Alarm (Thanks to Idiot Passengers)

April 29, 2009 | Posted in: Airline News,Travel Safety

The airlines are plenty jittery these days – so when an AirTran flight from Cancun radioed ahead to Baltimore-Washington International this week that two passengers onboard were feverish and nauseous, people at the airport took it very seriously, and jumped into action.. The airport’s fire and rescue teams met the plane, and the passengers (more than 100) had to wait onboard the aircraft while the two male passengers were isolated and examined for swine flu. The verdict? No flu. The men had another malady – commonly referred to as, “too much to drink”. Understandably, the airlines can’t be too careful – but what a terrible inconvenience to all those passengers – not to mention the airport personnel – all because a couple of lunkheads overindulged.

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One Response to “Swine Flu Airline Scare: False Alarm (Thanks to Idiot Passengers)”

1. Rich says:

   April 30, 2009 at 10:47 am

   It seems to me that alcohol on flights is more of a problem than its worth. I hear of stories of inebriated passengers getting in altercations, going to the bathroom to get sick (now I’d love to use the bathroom after that) and now getting mistaken for having a flu virus. First class seats are mostly an invitation to get plastered, and its sad to see that some are irresponsible enough to do just that.

   I have nothing against drinking, and do so myself on occasion. But, I really don’t see the necessity for airlines to serve alcohol. If someone can’t be without booze for the length of a flight, maybe they shouldn’t be flying in the first place.

   I guess the argument is going to be that the carriers make a huge profit on alcohol sales and they do need all the money they can get to stay in business.