Breaking News: Passengers released | Local News | News for Charlotte, North Carolina | WCNC.com | Top StoriesIntoxicated? Hmm. Right...The passengers quarantined at Charlotte Douglas International Airport for several hours Friday afternoon have been released, according to a U.S. Airways spokesperson.
The 112 passengers and four crew members were cleared to leave the plane at around 7:30 p.m., after being detained because a fellow passenger on the flight from New Orleans claimed to have smallpox.
The passenger was taken to Carolinas Medical Center for testing, and the results were negative, CMC spokesman Scott White said.But the passengers remained on the plane after the man was cleared, because the Mecklenburg County Health Department needed to conduct further tests before releasing the passengers.
As Flight 1014 was landing in Charlotte, the passenger allegedly shouted that he had exposed everyone to smallpox. The airline is now backing off initial reports that he was intoxicated.
Stupid, definitely. But why wouldn't I be terribly surprised to find the guy had an Arabic name?
J.