A United Airlines plane from San Francisco was placed on temporary lockdown in London Friday morning because of a coronavirus scare, according to a report from Sky News.
United Flight 901 out of San Francisco International Airport was placed on lockdown at Heathrow Airport after a passenger complained of coronavirus symptoms, Sky News reported.
The passenger was taken to the back of plane by airline staff, who weren't wearing any protective gear, a witness reported to the news outlet.
Everyone else was allowed to disembark about 25 minutes later, the witness reported.
The witness also told Sky News the captain told passengers seven other planes at Heathrow also had suspected coronavirus cases on board.
United said it has suspended all flights from Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai and Hong Kong until April 24.
The airline released the following statement Friday:
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"The safety of our customers and employees is our top priority and we are working closely with Public Health England regarding this individual case. Our crews are trained and ready to respond to anyone on board the aircraft who may become ill in flight and we continue to follow additional precautions recommended by the Public Health England. The aircraft has undergone a deep clean, which includes cleaning all surface areas and overhead bins."
If the CDC, or another authority, identifies someone having traveled with United as testing positive for the coronavirus, the agency will request the manifest from that flight and connect with those identified as having close contact with the diagnosed passenger, United said.
