A passenger on a U.S. Airways flight from Philadelphia to the Dominican Republic was escorted off the plane by a team in hazmat gear after he joked to other passengers that he was infected with Ebola.
Talking Points Memo reported that the airline issued a statement confirming that the flight was inspected upon arrival in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic because of a "possible health issue on board."
According to ABC News, a passenger alerted flight attendants as the plane approached its destination that they overheard a fellow traveler saying that he was infected with Ebola, the hemorrhagic fever that has infected and killed thousands of West Africans.
The newspaper Diario Libre stated that the passenger told witnesses, "I have Ebola. You are all screwed."
In the video below, a team in blue hazmat suits can be seen boarding the plane as a flight attendant tells passengers, "It's going to look worse than it is."
"I think the man that has said this is an idiot, and I'll say that straight out, and if you hear me that's fine," she said, a note of exasperation plain in her voice.
As he was led off the plane, the jokester was heard telling members of the containment team, "I ain't from Africa" in an effort to make them leave him alone.
Watch video of the hazmat team escorting the passenger off the plane, embedded below:
