American Airlines is strongly denying the claim and said the crew never believed the ill passenger was suffering from the deadly disease – and that the traveled wanted to stay in the lavatory in case she was ill again.
The incident happened on American Airlines Flight 2325 Thursday night from Dallas-Fort Worth to Chicago.
University of Texas professor Martha Shelby told MailOnline she heard a flight attendant say to the woman:
‘Because of our current health situation, we’re going to have to ask you to stay in the bathroom.’
The cabin crew then cordoned off the back of the airplane with seat belt extenders. When the plane landed and the woman was carted off the plane by medics, flight attendants wrapped her carry-on luggage in plastic before sending it off the plane with her, professor Shelby, who is chair of the Asian studies department in Austin, said
I believe that because the ill woman was black, she was treated as if she had Ebola.
‘I’m outraged. And some of my fellow passengers were, too. We just could not believe what we have seen… they thought it was about race, too,’ she said.
When the plane began to land, professor Shelby said, she heard a flight attendant tell the passenger in the lavatory:
‘You’re going to have to stay in there, hang on tight.’
American Airlines spokeswoman Michelle Mohr said professor Shelby had ‘absolutely the wrong reading’ of the situation on the plane.
Ms Mohr said the passenger became ‘extremely, violently ill’ and projectile vomited while waiting to get into a lavatory on the plane.
Ebola was never mentioned. In fact, that flight attendants suspected the passenger had food poisoning. Ms Mohr also denied that the woman was locked in the bathroom.
‘The passenger who was sick elected to go into lavatory and elected to remain there for the short duration of the flight. At no time was she ever locked in lavatory. elected to stay there,’ Ms Mohr said.
Hmmm…don’t see what this lady has to gain by making up such a thing, but stranger things have happened. Who do YOU think?
