60 children travelling on Emirates A380 to London treated after falling sick

Paramedics at London's Heathrow Airport were rushed in to attend to 60 kids after a group of schoolchildren on a London-bound Emirates A380 flight complained of diarrhoea and vomiting, according to UK media reports. 

Emirates has confirmed the incident that occurred on Monday, May 5, and said the passengers who transited via Dubai were given medical attention on arrival at London Heathrow.

“A small group of passengers who transited via Dubai and flew on Emirates to London Heathrow on May 5 informed our crew that they were unwell during the flight,” an Emirates spokesperson told this website in an e-mailed statement.

“They were given medical attention on arrival. The affected passengers were part of the same travel group who began their journey in Cape Town,” Emirates confirmed. 

After the A380 landed at Heathrow and kids were attended to by paramedics, 11 children were taken to the hospital as a precaution. All 11 children have now been discharged from the hospital, this website has learned.

The 60 kids were among a Welsh choir of 65 children who performed at the Cape Town Opera on Friday and Saturday night. Five of the group were reportedly unaffected by the bug.

The children were hit with suspected food poisoning even as authorities are investigating the cause of their sickness. “We are providing the affected passengers with all possible support, and are working closely with the local authorities to investigate the issue,” the airline confirmed.

Reports said the children are all aged between 10 and 14. The Daily Mail quotes a parent of one of the sick kids as saying that the children may have picked up the bug before boarding the flight in Cape Town. The parent was also all praise for the Emirates crew.

“It was a hell of a journey for the kids and the other passengers,” the parent is quoted as saying. “Apparently they went down like nine pins one after another on the flight home. The crew was marvelous but there is not much you can do to stop children in those circumstances.

“We think it may have been something they ate before setting off from Cape Town but we will never know for sure.”

According to the BBC, the hospital that treated the kids said it was likely they picked up a bug before they left Cape Town.

Media reports also said the London Ambulance Service took two hours to treat the children at the airport.

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