United Flight Diverts For An Unruly Passenger, Gets Quarantined Over Disease Scare

by Gary Leff

United Airlines 998 from Brussels to Newark diverted to Dublin today due to an unruly passenger – and went to quarantine when it landed.

The Boeing 787-10 from Brussels around 11:30 a.m.. About an hour into the flight pilots decided to make an unscheduled stop in Dublin to remove a disruptive individual. The on-the-ground response included Dublin Airport Police and Operations, national police and security service Gardai, the National Ambulance Service, and staff from the Health Service Executive.

However, an entirely different passenger was displaying symptoms of a potentially infectious disease. The aircraft was sent to a remote area of the airport, emergency service vehicles surrounded the plane, and everyone was forced to remain on board.

According to Dublin airport,

Flight UA998 from Brussels to New York’s Newark Airport diverted to Dublin Airport this afternoon due to reports of two separate incidents – a disruptive passenger and a suspected medical issue – on board. Appropriate protocols were put in place by Dublin Airport Operations and Airport Police for the arrival of the aircraft, and Gardai, National Ambulance Service, and HSE personnel met the aircraft on arrival.

The infectious disease team boarded the aircraft to assess the sick passenger. They administered a test on the spot and determined that, in fact, the individual did not have a serious spreadable disease. At that point, both the unruly passenger and the sick passenger were removed from the aircraft. The plane was refueled, a replacement crew was called for, and the flight is expected to land six and a half hours late this evening.

According to the airline,

United flight 998 from Brussels to Newark landed safely in Dublin on Monday because of a disruptive passenger. Separately, a medical situation was identified with a different passenger, and medical personnel are investigating and providing assistance while passengers and crew wait on board. We are working to get our customers to their destinations as quickly as possible.

Despite the delays and the unsettling nature of the incidents, passengers like Johan Westberg remained understanding. In a post on social media site X, Westberg acknowledged the delay, stating, “.”

Ultimately, United flight 998 resumed its journey and was expected to arrive in Newark approximately 6.5 hours behind schedule. The airline’s prompt response and the cooperation of Dublin Airport authorities ensured that all protocols were followed, prioritizing the health and safety of everyone involved.

(HT: Live and Let’s Fly and Paddle Your Own Kanoo)

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  6. @Gary,

    You’ve got your placeholder but you should probably fill it in!

    In a post on social media site X, Westberg acknowledged the delay, stating, “.”

  7. Ebola scare? I used to see signs of that on my BRU-US flights from time to time. BRU has quite the connection to some parts of Africa and seemed to get more of the Ebola concerns even as CDG-US has way more connections with Africa.

    The one and only time I had food poisoning hit on board a flight it was on a UA BRU-US flight. It was UA economy class food at work.

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