Terrified passengers watch as man with coronavirus escorted off flight

An airline passenger has been filmed being bungled off a packed plane after testing positive for coronavirus.

The Ryanair London Stansted to Pisa, Italy, was due to depart on Wednesday when a passenger received a text just after taking his seat which said that he had tested positive for COVID-19.

A video posted on Twitter by Fionn Murphy showed three staff members wearing head-to toe protection gear including full-face gas masks talking to the passenger.

Other passengers were all looking on at what was happening while a flight attendant tried to assist.

Ryanair said the passenger and his companion were only onboard for 10 minutes before they were taken off the plane and put in an isolation area at the airport where they were assisted by local health authorities.

The airline said that the passenger had followed all the rules and was wearing a mask.

“There was little if any risk of COVID-19 transmission to other passengers or crew members as all of them were also wearing face masks at all times,” Ryanair said.

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The plane departed an hour and 20 minutes late after the empty seats and overhead cabin storage was thoroughly disinfected.

Ryanair apologised to all those affected by the delay.

The passenger has not been named but it is possible they breached coronavirus restrictions by not self-isolating while awaiting the result of their coronavirus test.

Mr Murphy told Sky News the incident was "frighteningly real" and he and his mum wanted to get off the plane but weren’t allowed.

He said he was wondering why the plane hadn’t taken off when he noticed the fire brigade pull up next to the plane.

"Two men exited the fire truck and put on full body suits and began to board the plane,” he told Sky News.

“It was clear something dramatic was unfolding."

On Twitter, people were shocked by the video.

“I bet nobody argued about wearing a mask when those guys came onboard!” one man tweeted.

with Yahoo UK

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