Because of widespread illness passengers, crew on Virgin flight quarantined

Virgin Atlantic said Wednesday that all passengers and crew on a charter flight from Barbados to London were briefly put into quarantine because of widespread illness on board. The airline said the 448 passengers, who were returning to Britain after travelling on the MSC Preziosa cruise ship in the Caribbean, and crew were taken to a reception centre near London Gatwick Airport for medical assessment after the plane landed.

It said, "a number of customers" had "reported feeling unwell onboard" and that it is conducting a full investigation as to what happened. A South East Coast Ambulance Service spokesman said it treated about 30 people and that three had been taken to a hospital for further checks.

The service said it responded with specialists and its Hazardous Area Response Team because passengers and crew were feeling "unwell and nauseous." A spokesman for Swiss-based cruise line MSC Cruises, which operates the ship, said the company is investigating and seeking reports from doctors treating the passengers. The company said there have been no cases of acute stomach ailments on the cruise ship in the last two weeks.

(With inputs from agencies.)