Sick passenger removed from WestJet plane in Winnipeg after flight from Vancouver

Paramedics removed a sick passenger from a plane that landed in Winnipeg Thursday afternoon, forcing others on board to wait for more than an hour before being allowed to leave the aircraft.

Winnipeg Airports Authority spokesperson Tyler MacAfee said WestJet Flight 448 landed in Winnipeg shortly after 2:15 p.m. CT and paramedics went to assist.

"A passenger on board had expressed that they had a medical issue," he said, although he declined to say more about the person's symptoms.

"With the current climate [because of coronavirus], there's some heightened awareness around these things, but medical things like this are not uncommon." 

MacAfee said the rest of the passengers were allowed to leave the plane. 

In an emailed statement, WestJet told CBC News the flight was not quarantined.

"Out of an abundance of caution, our crew notified the appropriate authorities that there was a potential medical issue on board WestJet Flight 448 from Vancouver to Winnipeg and followed all proper procedures."

Flight attendants in masks

One of the passengers on the flight was Winnipeg Blue Bombers star linebacker Adam Bighill, who was returning from a speaking engagement in Vancouver.

Bighill told CBC news that he first became aware of the problem about halfway through the flight, when the flight crew donned masks and asked if a doctor was on board over the intercom.

"You typically don't see that, so that was kind of one of the first alarm bells," he said.

According to another passenger on board the flight — whom CBC News is not naming for safety and privacy reasons — a woman got sick while in the air.

"People get sick. It happens," the passenger said.

Bighill said none of the flight crew mentioned the possibility of the coronavirus — but the thought definitely crossed his mind.

"Of course, they don't want to create a public terror event on the plane when you're 35,000 feet in the air," he said.

After the flight landed in Winnipeg, Bighill said it took about 30-40 minutes before paramedics arrived to remove the sick woman from the plane.

 He said the rest of the passengers weren't allowed to leave until an hour later, when an official with the airport told them the woman didn't appear to be suffering from COVID-19.

"Fortunately enough, tests came back negative and everyone was free to go and were healthy," he said.

Considering the potential for panic, Bighill said he understood why paramedics and WestJet staff "weren't being so liberal with information."

The other passenger CBC spoke with, however, was less impressed with the lack of communication.

"Just tell us what's going on," the passenger said.

"We're not idiots. We're not children."

The City of Winnipeg confirmed paramedics took the woman to hospital.

The passenger said the woman walked off the plane with help from a paramedic.

Although he believes all the correct measures were taken, the length of time the whole process took was frustrating.

"They knew this woman was sick en route and they contacted Manitoba Health, which makes perfect sense," the passenger said.

"I think the question we're asking is: why did it take an hour before the paramedics even got on to the airplane?"

The plane was scheduled to continue on to Toronto as WestJet Flight 490 at 6 p.m., but was delayed for almost two hours.

A WestJet representative told passengers the flight was delayed due to a combination of bad weather in Toronto and a fuelling issue, but did not mention the illness.

When asked by a Toronto-bound passenger, the WestJet representative confirmed the sick woman had been on the plane but said the aircraft had been wiped down and sanitized.

The Winnipeg Airports Authority website indicated the flight finally left the city at 7:50 p.m.

CBC News has contacted the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority for comment. A spokesperson told CBC News the authority was aware of the situation but wouldn't provide further comment.

A provincial spokesperson said Manitoba Health is aware of the situation at the airport, but says public health officials cannot provide specific information related to it because it could breach privacy.

"We can confirm that all appropriate precautions and procedures are being followed," the spokesperson said.

Even with Bombers training camp less than three months away, Bighill said he won't let Thursday's short-lived "coronavirus scare" prevent him from travelling in the coming months. He won't be visiting China any time soon, but said he'll have no reservations about flying within Canada.

"I do have a couple trips I've got to make … and it's part of the risk you have to take," he said.

"Life's got to go on — you can't be scared of everything."