Passenger Jokes About Ebola

flymco · Thu Oct 09, 2014 10:01 pm

On a US Airways flight from Philadelphia to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic a passenger sneezed and yelled "I have Ebola"

After the plane landed the hazmat team came in and swept the plane.

Here is a link to some pictures and a video documenting the whole thing.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ryanhatesthi...lane?bftw&utm_term=4ldqpgc#2eee1cp

Miami · Thu Oct 09, 2014 10:14 pm

What an idiot. If i was on that plane and he yelled that out.. Oh no... His day will not be pretty after I have a little "talk" with him.

Video here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJhWVsx1U8c

a318 · Thu Oct 09, 2014 10:19 pm

Had a nice laugh watching that! However I don't think it's very professional for a FA to call a passenger an "idiot" over the PA regardless of the circumstance. Just my

IAHflyer97 · Thu Oct 09, 2014 10:26 pm

Is that considered terrorism? If not, it should. Not cool at all.

32andBelow · Thu Oct 09, 2014 10:28 pm

Quoting Miami (Reply 1):

What an idiot. If i was on that plane and he yelled that out.. Oh no... His day will not be pretty after I have a little "talk" with him.

Video here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJhWVsx1U8c

So you would beat someone who may or may not have ebola and get his blood outside his body. Great plan.

Miami · Thu Oct 09, 2014 10:34 pm

Quoting IAHflyer97 (Reply 3):
Is that considered terrorism? If not, it should. Not cool at all.

It should. But I don't think it will be considered that.

Miami · Thu Oct 09, 2014 10:35 pm

Quoting 32andBelow (Reply 4):

Right? It's pretty awesome how everyone already knew it was a lie.

scbriml · Thu Oct 09, 2014 11:15 pm

Overreaction. Big time.

Having just spent two weeks travelling around Africa in non-infected areas, checks at airports were thorough but not conducted by people in full bio-hazard suits.

AIRWALK · Thu Oct 09, 2014 11:28 pm

Quoting Miami (Reply 1):
His day will not be pretty after I have a little "talk" with him.

Quoting IAHflyer97 (Reply 3):
Is that considered terrorism? If not, it should. Not cool at all.

This was my initial thoughts (and more) as well when I read the title however we all know of the tendency of the media to sensationalize stories. As the video doesn't actually show him supposedly 'yelling', it may not have been the case at all. The way it makes it sound is that he sneezed, stood up, yelled 'I have Ebola' and stared around the plane impressively. What if in fact he just sneezed and made an offhand comment such as hah, must have Ebola, which resulted in a passenger who heard running to an FA and saying that man said he had Ebola. Although a joke in terribly bad taste, (It is still an incredibly stupid thing to say) nowhere near as bad as what the article makes it out to be. In fact the original article doesn't have anything in it about 'yelling'

However if I am wrong and he did actually do that then I take it all back he is an idiot and should be locked away

29erUSA187 · Fri Oct 10, 2014 12:45 am

This sounds like kids at my high school ;p. They will not stop talking about ebola, and if anyone sneezes, its the end of the world...

avi8 · Fri Oct 10, 2014 12:55 am

It is more likely that one will get the common cold than get Ebola. You can be sitting right next to someone with Ebola and not get sick unless you kiss or he/she purposely sneezes on you.

RDUDDJI · Fri Oct 10, 2014 12:59 am

Quoting avi8 (Reply 10):
It is more likely that one will get the common cold than get Ebola. You can be sitting right next to someone with Ebola and not get sick unless you kiss or he/she purposely sneezes on you.

It's more likely you'll get bit by a shark while getting hit by lightening while being trapped in a cave than getting Ebola. Nonetheless, it's nothing to joke about on a plane.

topbanana · Fri Oct 10, 2014 1:03 am

Quoting a318 (Reply 2):
Had a nice laugh watching that! However I don't think it's very professional for a FA to call a passenger an "idiot" over the PA regardless of the circumstance.

I thought she was great.

In this case, people could have been getting upset because they were truly concerned for their health or simply because they were annoyed at being made to stay on the aircraft....

She spoke to them like they were friends having a chat.... and not as a stuffy, uptight, control-freak flight attendant... I think that's what this situation needed. I think her tone and honesty kept the situation from possibly getting ugly.

And she didn't say anything that everyone else on board wasn't already thinking.

aerorobnz · Fri Oct 10, 2014 2:42 am

I have sneezed at work in the airport and said "dont mind me - its just a mild dose of Ebola" No overreaction yet. And i am just gone 3 weeks back from completely unaffected part of Africa. It is just another media frenzy.

AR385 · Fri Oct 10, 2014 3:15 am

Wow. I´d like to meet that FA. Priceless how she speaks with a no nonsense tone and authority but calming at the same time. Totally professional.

rg787 · Fri Oct 10, 2014 3:51 am

Whoever asked this FA her opinion and what are 36 years old going to matter in this situation?

She just wanted attention. It was a bad joke, ok, but she should have gone straight at him and tell him that he needed to do some tests and tell everybody inside the plane to be calm because authorities were taking care of the subject. Just another day in business it would be.

If I was this passenger I would go straight ahead with a lawsuit against that woman, it was completely unnecessary and unprofessional, IMHO.

peterjohns · Fri Oct 10, 2014 8:05 am

Quoting RDUDDJI (Reply 11):
It's more likely you'll get bit by a shark while getting hit by lightening while being trapped in a cave than getting Ebola.

Oh- really!??
I´m glad to hear that, because here in Europe they told us it is a highly contagious virus that is even in the sweat of an affected person... I´m sure the around 10.000 infected and 4000 deceased must have - by your terms- just had incredible bad luck.

PanHAM · Fri Oct 10, 2014 8:15 am

a real joke about ebola I read in a newspaper here:

Cleaning staff at LGA refused cleaning all aircraft coming in from Africa.

hz747300 · Fri Oct 10, 2014 8:33 am

Seems like a total overreaction. I would have questioned the passenger in a firm but serious tone before going off the deep-end. It's about making smart decisions, and realistic information, and assessing the risk.

Quoting PanHAM (Reply 17):

a real joke about ebola I read in a newspaper here

Sounds like an Onion headline!

PanHAM · Fri Oct 10, 2014 8:36 am

Quoting hz747300 (Reply 18):
Sounds like an Onion headline!

FAZ Frankfurt, nationawide top level newspaper

JetBuddy · Fri Oct 10, 2014 9:14 am

Quoting PanHAM (Reply 17):

a real joke about ebola I read in a newspaper here:

Cleaning staff at LGA refused cleaning all aircraft coming in from Africa.

Does LGA really handle planes from Africa? I thought it was a mostly domestic airport? But maybe that's why the joke was so stupid.

Quoting aerorobnz (Reply 13):

I have sneezed at work in the airport and said "dont mind me - its just a mild dose of Ebola" No overreaction yet. And i am just gone 3 weeks back from completely unaffected part of Africa. It is just another media frenzy.

Doing that here would probably get you fired. And rightly so.

JOYA380B747 · Fri Oct 10, 2014 11:44 am

Funny how some passengers are covering their noses when the hazmat team was crossing them. Like that's gonna help with anything. Ignorant mortals.

Lostmoon744 · Fri Oct 10, 2014 12:33 pm

He said, "I have Ebola", but he was referring tot he song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_WOR22-SnY

jeffh747 · Fri Oct 10, 2014 12:35 pm

Even I would've gotten a chuckle if that happened on a flight I was on. Hell, I'm probably the passenger who would say it! Haha, but the FA calling the passenger an idiot isn't professional at all and she'll probably get talked to.

cedarjet · Fri Oct 10, 2014 12:50 pm

Shows how out of whack our ability to sense and understand a threat is - especially in the USA where "terror" is a word that is used more than any other (closely followed by "lockdown"). Look how some people right here on this thread want to classify this guy a terrorist! If you knew how many people die of the flu every year, you'd never hear another word about Ebola. (See also: Isis.)

RDUDDJI · Fri Oct 10, 2014 1:37 pm

Quoting peterjohns (Reply 16):

Oh- really!??
I´m glad to hear that, because here in Europe they told us it is a highly contagious virus that is even in the sweat of an affected person... I´m sure the around 10.000 infected and 4000 deceased must have - by your terms- just had incredible bad luck.

Chillax, I was (obviously) exaggerating.

Mir · Fri Oct 10, 2014 2:03 pm

Quoting jeffh747 (Reply 23):
the FA calling the passenger an idiot isn't professional at all and she'll probably get talked to.

His joke cost everyone else on the plane a lengthy delay (and probably cost the passengers on the return flight a delay), which in turn costs the airline a lot of money. I see nothing wrong with calling a spade a spade. She handled the situation very well, doing her best to put the passengers at ease while making sure that what was probably necessary by policy was able to happen smoothly.

-Mir

rampbro · Fri Oct 10, 2014 4:16 pm

Apparently the earliest victim of the Ebola virus has been some poster's senses of humour.

jmc1975 · Fri Oct 10, 2014 5:22 pm

Quoting a318 (Reply 2):
However I don't think it's very professional for a FA to call a passenger an "idiot" over the PA regardless of the circumstance.

It was completely out of line and unprofessional for any FA to say that...even for NK!

727LOVER · Fri Oct 10, 2014 5:37 pm

Withdrawn....please delete

[Edited 2014-10-10 10:53:55]

SAAFNAV · Fri Oct 10, 2014 5:56 pm

Quoting rg787 (Reply 15):

If I was this passenger I would go straight ahead with a lawsuit against that woman, it was completely unnecessary and unprofessional, IMHO.

Sue happy culture. He acted like an idiot, and she didn't tell a lie by saying that out loud.

Ebola isn't airborne like Influenza to contaminate the whole aircraft, but certainly able to infect the people next to him with a sneeze's aerosol.

If he sues, he should be held liable for the costs involved.

aajfksjubklyn · Fri Oct 10, 2014 6:00 pm

I would defend the FA in saying Idiot. Technically, that what the person was. The definition is simply: A stupid Person. or Mentally Handicapped. Either definition applies in either case. End of story. I'm sure if you were sitting on the plane, you would be saying the same thing. Lets talk planes, not idiots folks...

deltal1011man · Fri Oct 10, 2014 6:36 pm

Quoting flymco (Thread starter):

what an idiot

Quoting rg787 (Reply 15):

If I was this passenger I would go straight ahead with a lawsuit against that woman, it was completely unnecessary and unprofessional, IMHO.

good way to get the airline to come after you for the cost of the mess you just created..........

and good luck with that.

EWRCabincrew · Sat Oct 11, 2014 12:21 am

[quote=rg787,reply=15][/quo
The person wanting attention was the man in question, clearly. Sue for what? Being honest? Why is telling like it is a bad thing? PC run amuck, again. He was an idiot for doing what he did and she did need to explain to an entire aircraft of people what was going to happen. The guy is a douche. Was there overreaction from authorities, yes, but her p.a. was spot on.

Curiousflyer · Sat Oct 11, 2014 2:14 am

I don't know what I would have said if I had been this FA in this situation. Agreed the passenger is stupid but the consequences seem out of control.

We see so many examples of over-reaction to passenger bad behavior: I agree one should dress decently on a plane, not drink too much, keep kids in check, not use knee defenders, not joke about bombs or ebola... But the drama that ensues is excessive to say the least.

I think many FAs, in the US in particular, are abusing their authority.

EWRCabincrew · Sat Oct 11, 2014 2:21 am

Quoting curiousflyer (Reply 34):

I think many FAs, in the US in particular, are abusing their authority.

Where did this FA abuse authority? Nor sure how this comment relates to the thread.

That said, there is a knee-jerk reaction right now. You have a disease that was only read about in newspapers. Now, it is being covered, ad nauseum, by the world news, much delivered as a scare tactic to those who are uninformed. Someone pukes on the plane, public, whatever....they have Ebola. Really? There will be a lot more of this, sadly, that will make the news.

[Edited 2014-10-10 19:36:33]

frmrCapCadet · Sat Oct 11, 2014 2:33 am

What would have been funny was to quarantine him for 21 days!

OB1504 · Sat Oct 11, 2014 9:22 am

Quoting a318 (Reply 2):
Had a nice laugh watching that! However I don't think it's very professional for a FA to call a passenger an "idiot" over the PA regardless of the circumstance.

I understand that she merely stated what everyone on board was already thinking, but a customer-facing employee should never call a customer an idiot, especially publicly as on the PA. The F/A should be disciplined.

Quoting TopBanana (Reply 12):
And she didn't say anything that everyone else on board wasn't already thinking.

Still inexcusable from a customer service standpoint. I deal with my fair share of idiots every day yet I would never think of calling them idiots to their faces.

Quoting rg787 (Reply 15):
If I was this passenger I would go straight ahead with a lawsuit against that woman, it was completely unnecessary and unprofessional, IMHO.

A lawsuit? For what? I agree that the flight attendant was unprofessional, but I don't think she did anything that would merit a lawsuit. If the guy tries to file for "pain and suffering," I'm sure the other hundred passengers or so (and possibly the flight attendant) will sue him in return for the same reason.

Curiousflyer · Sat Oct 11, 2014 1:27 pm

Quoting EWRCabincrew (Reply 35):

Maybe I am a little strong when I say abused authority... Let's say misused.

Calling the guy an idiot through the PA is definitely inappropriate in my view. It might be true but it should not have been said.

And frankly he did not seem sick and she knew he was just being very stupid so why go through the trouble of reporting him and inflicting that whole show to the while plane? Was this really unavoidable? She could have had achat with him first, asked him if he was sure, if he understood that there could be consequences, had he really been to Africa?

If you go to the extreme everytime you face an idiot you will waste lots of time... And other people's time too. Did she really have no choice?

PanHAM · Sat Oct 11, 2014 1:44 pm

[
She had no choice. If some (idiot) announces on a full plane that he has ebola, she must act and call in the full programme. She is not qualified to recognoze that this (idiot) is just joking. Imagine what would have happened if that (idiot) really was infected?

I reccon that 100% of the remaining passengers who lost 2 hours and the return passengers who were equally affected wholeheartly agreed with her.

BTW - I remember a case were some stupid German passenger waiting in the security line at IAD to board her Lh flight home jokingly said that she had a bomb in her luggage. Her stay in the US was extended by 2 years, if she wasn't released earlier. What's the difference if you say "bomb2 or "ebola"?

peterinlisbon · Sat Oct 11, 2014 2:08 pm

The US will never win the war on terror but the war on humour seems to be going well. Surely they could just ask a few questions first to see if the guy is serious and, if not, tell him not to make stupid jokes like that in the future. How many terrorists and people infected with ebola have announced their evil intentions whilst boarding a plane so far?

topbanana · Sat Oct 11, 2014 8:36 pm

Here is the thing, though....

The comment had to be taken seriously even if it was clear that it was meant to be a joke.

It is the same as a passenger making a stupid joke about a bomb.... or a stupid joke about seeing the pilot of the flight in a bar having a beer before the flight....

We all know its supposed to be a joke but if it is NOT addressed..... then the crew becomes the crew that didn't take a comment seriously.

Part of it, probably, comes as a result of the litigation-happy culture of the United States....There is going to be that one or two people who hear the "joke," see that it is not addressed and the next thing you know they are on the nightly news talking about how the airline put everyone's lives in danger and how they were traumatized by flying on a flight that may have had a bomb on board.... or flying with a drunk pilot... or being exposed to Ebola on the plane.....

It's a no-win situation for the crew: Address the "joke" and be accused of overreacting by some passengers or don't address the comment and be accused of not taking a threat seriously by other other passengers.

deltal1011man · Sat Oct 11, 2014 9:57 pm

Quoting curiousflyer (Reply 38):
And frankly he did not seem sick and she knew he was just being very stupid so why go through the trouble of reporting him and inflicting that whole show to the while plane?

if he turns up sick the s**t show the FA would have had to deal with after would be terrible.

Quoting curiousflyer (Reply 38):
She could have had achat with him first, asked him if he was sure, if he understood that there could be consequences, had he really been to Africa?

Nah, you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes. The only thing that should have happened was after they checked him out take his stupid self right to jail for a little bit.

PanHAM · Sun Oct 12, 2014 5:35 am

Quoting peterinlisbon (Reply 40):
The US will never win the war on terror but the war on humour seems to be going well.

Be careful, they make a South Park episode about that story. Cartman would fit perfectly.

aerorobnz · Sun Oct 12, 2014 8:09 am

Quoting JetBuddy (Reply 20):
Doing that here would probably get you fired. And rightly so.

As it was, In an office environment with 4 colleagues you know very well and have done for a long time, using an exaggerately sarcastic tone - I doubt it. It just got a laugh asit was designed to. With passengers who panic, then maybe so..

Malaria kills 500000 a year in Africa alone and is easier to spread than Ebola. Yet, if someone made a joke about that noone would give a toss. As I said, like the "humour" or not - it's a media beatup. 4000 dead since March is not the issue the media make it to be - Especially as so many of those happened in countries without a developed health system capable of isolation. The reality is, had it stayed in Africa, the media would have stopped the hype and got on with it, but because a couple of westerners get it - it's a pandemic, despite the fact all the westerners deliberately put themselves at risk by working in hospitals treating Ebola patients

There really are bigger fish to fry in the world . IMO

pvjin · Sun Oct 12, 2014 8:59 am

Quoting aerorobnz (Reply 44):

Exactly, Ebola is all about media hype and not a real threat to most of the world, not at this stage at least. Maybe then if a new, extremely easy to spread mutation appeared then I would be concerned but then again there are loads of other deadly viruses with similar potential.

ElanusNotatus · Sun Oct 12, 2014 1:09 pm

Quoting aerorobnz (Reply 44):

Malaria may kill more people but as far as I am aware it is not contagious. It is passed by a vector, by some species of mosquitoes. Ebola is passed by by coming into contact with the blood of an infected person, or possibly through sneezing , through contact with bats or some non human hominid species. So comparing a list of diseases and fatality rates is not sufficient. We also need to consider how a disease or virus spreads within a community.

Most people travelling on an aircraft would simply not be at risk. People working in a medical service would likely be at greater risk. Given the actual level of risk a simple series of questiosn to the passenger should have been sufficient to assess the risk and this could have been done without delaying all others passengers. After all, is that not how screening at airports works? We don't wearvhazmat gear to greet every person getting off a plane even if they do come from an affected area.

Questions could have included:
have you been in an affected area within the last thirty days?
have you been in contact with an infected person?
have you come into contact with blood or blood products from an infected area?

If the answers were no, then advice not to make ill-considered jokes could have been given.

But I that guess in these days of over the top reactions to the most banal comments it is obligatory to "take most seriously" even the most trivial incident. Yet another example of PC going out of control. Perhaps we should just mske it a criminal offence to ever tell a joke in a public setting, just in case someone chooses to takeboffence orbkacks a sense of proportion.

SeJoWa · Sun Oct 12, 2014 1:35 pm

Quoting pvjin (Reply 45):

Quoting aerorobnz (Reply 44):

Exactly, Ebola is all about media hype and not a real threat to most of the world, not at this stage at least. Maybe then if a new, extremely easy to spread mutation appeared then I would be concerned but then again there are loads of other deadly viruses with similar potential.

Unlikely. See

http://www.virology.ws/2014/09/18/wh...t-afraid-to-say-about-ebola-virus/

The gist of it being:

[Quote}
When it comes to viruses, it is always difficult to predict what they can or cannot do. It is instructive, however, to see what viruses have done in the past, and use that information to guide our thinking. Therefore we can ask: has any human virus ever changed its mode of transmission?

The answer is no. We have been studying viruses for over 100 years, and we’ve never seen a human virus change the way it is transmitted.
[Unquote]

For easily accessible links and scientific commentary on Ebola, see the following blog:
http://www.twiv.tv/

peterinlisbon · Sun Oct 12, 2014 3:36 pm

It's lucky he didn't joke that he was a Martian that had come to take over planet Earth otherwise the delay would have been even longer.

aerorobnz · Sun Oct 12, 2014 9:28 pm

Quoting ElanusNotatus (Reply 46):
have you been in an affected area within the last thirty days?

How about
"Are you a Missionary/Aid worker/Doctor Nurse?"
"Have you set foot in a Medical facility within an affected country within the last month"

Someone who has stayed in their hotel room by themselves in Sierra Leone or Liberia is not going to be a threat compared to any Missionary/Aidworker/Doctor/Nurse.

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