Boston International Airport was at the center of a “poisoning” alert Sunday after reports that passengers on two separate flights fell mysteriously ill.
Unverified online reports claimed that a Delta flight from Paris at 1:53 p.m. had 10 sick people on board, while 10 minutes later a second Avianca flight from El Salvador was reported to have seven sick passengers, including a child who was vomiting.
X users who reacted to the news blamed everything from carbon monoxide poisoning to contaminated ice machines or even an infectious disease.
There was only one problem with the reports: they were almost completely wrong.
Airport officials confirmed Monday that they had met with people departing the Delta flight and that the CDC had been contacted “out of an abundance of caution.” But they also said the diseases were much less widespread.
On the Delta flight, two attendants were taken to the hospital after suffering “dizziness” and were later released, the CDC said.
And on the Avianca flight, a vomiting child was treated by medical workers at the airport, before being sent for transfer to Oslo, Norway.
No other injuries or illnesses were reported by the CDC, airlines or airport.
Boston International Airport was at the center of alarm over a suspected “poisoning” on Sunday after reports that passengers on two separate flights were sick (stock)
The claims were posted online by the ‘Boston Area Public Safety Alerts’ X account and viewed more than 1.2 million times.
The account, which has 15,000 followers, says online that it is not affiliated with any agency or journalist, and that all of its information is “unofficial.”
It is unclear who manages the account and did not respond to a request for comment from DailyMail.com.
The CDC told the Boston Globe in a statement that “two airline crew members experienced motion sickness” on the Delta flight.
“They were transported to a local hospital for further evaluation,” he said. “The hospital found no evidence of a contagious disease that posed a public health concern and both crew members were discharged.”
On the Avianca flight, they added: ‘The child had no other symptoms or known exposures. The boy recovered quickly and was not taken to a hospital.
A spokeswoman for Massport, which runs the airport, said: ‘Massport responded to two flights (Delta and Avianca) that arrived yesterday afternoon at around the same time with various illnesses.
“We have contacted the CDC out of an abundance of caution.”
A Delta spokesperson also said, “No customers reported any illnesses.”
One person who responded to the post on X said: ‘Sounds like Covid. Thanks to the CEOs of airline companies, the obligation to wear masks on planes was abandoned. This is your new normal. Enjoy!’
A second asked: “Did they eat the fish?”, and a third added: “Quarantine these people until you know what disease is spreading.”
Boston’s Logan International Airport was at the center of concerns in January 2020 at the start of the Covid pandemic, after a student infected with the virus passed through it on the way to one of the area’s universities.