February 13, 2012
WELLINGTON (AFP) - An Air New Zealand flight was quarantined on the tarmac at Auckland airport Monday after about 60 passengers on a flight from Japan displayed "flu-like symptoms", the airline said.
Air New Zealand said it informed health authorities after the Boeing 777-200 arrived from Tokyo on Monday morning, in line with public health procedures.
Reports said medical crews wearing protective gear boarded the flight to examine the sick passengers, believed to be a group of New Zealand schoolchildren returning from a trip to Japan.
However, Health Minister Tony Ryall said the quarantine response was precautionary and those on board the plane were believed to have ordinary seasonal influenza.
"We've been briefed on the situation, and advised that it is Japan's flu season, and there are no reports of new strains of flu there," he told the New Zealand Herald.
"We're keeping a watching brief but have been told there's nothing to suggest it's anything other than seasonal flu."
