A dozen American Airlines passengers returning to the U.S. on two separate planes from European cities were quarantined by Philadelphia International Airport officials Thursday after exhibiting flu-like symptoms during the flights, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
The Department of Homeland Security agency confirmed to the Washington Examiner that 12 people who were traveling originally from Mecca, Saudi Arabia, were examined and later released following their flights into U.S.
The incident comes the day after more than 100 passengers on a flight from Dubai to John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York were temporarily quarantined after also falling ill on the trans-Atlantic flight.
Eight passengers on American flight 717 from Munich were checked out by Philadelphia health officials and those from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
American flight 755 from Paris also had passengers temporarily quarantined while medical officials looked them over.
In both cases Wednesday, the sick passengers were returning from celebrating Hajj in Mecca, a pilgrimage to the holy city during the last month of the year that Muslims are expected to make once in their lives.
More than 1 million Muslims are anticipated to make pilgrimages this year.
Eleven people from the Dubai flight were taken to the hospital.
A Philadelphia health official said the passengers symptoms indicated it was “probably influenza.”
