Ebola scare prompted American Airlines flight 2791 to land in emergency at Midland International Airport and Spaceport, Texas, at 11:05 p.m. on October 7.
The emergency landing was made after a female passenger aboard the flight from Dallas to Midland, vomited and showed flu-like symptoms midair. The passenger was travelling from Istanbul, Turkey to Midland, through Dallas-Fort Worth international airport.
The plane landed safely and the patient was shifted to Midland Memorial Hospital. The other 69 passengers aboard the flight were allowed to leave but were told to carefully look for Ebola symptoms.
After extensive tests and consultations with CDC officials, the Midland Memorial Hospital confirmed that the patient was not affected by Ebola virus. According to the MMH press release, “As a reminder, the two primary cues that would suggest the potential for this virus are a fever at or above 101.5 degrees Fahrenheit and recent travel to an endemic area where several Ebola cases have been confirmed…Over the course of this event, the patient in question never had a fever nor have they traveled to or from an endemic region.”