After Tweets Go Viral About Passenger Dying of COVID-19 on Flight, Official Details Are Released

A viral Twitter thread that you have to read made some headlines earlier this week after a passenger on a plane said a man behind her died from COVID-19 in the middle of their flight.

Now, more details are being released by officials on what happened on that plane.

The flight took off from Orlando, Fla. on Monday (December 19) and was en route to Los Angeles. After a man began shaking and experienced cardiac arrest, the flight was diverted to New Orleans.

A spokesperson for United Airlines says that the passenger “declared he was not diagnosed with COVID and had no COVID-related symptoms,” according to TMZ. The spokesperson says that the man’s wife was overheard saying that he really did have symptoms of the virus, including loss of taste and smell.

Click inside for more details…

Medics performed CPR on the man and he was pronounced dead at a local hospital.

“We are sharing requested information with the agency so they can work with local health officials to conduct outreach to any customer the C.D.C. believes may be at risk for possible exposure or infection,” United told the New York Times in a statement. The C.D.C. added that it was “in the process of collecting information and proceeding according to our standard operating procedures to determine if further public health action is appropriate. To protect the privacy of the individual, we aren’t providing this information to the public.”

The flight continued to Los Angeles after the medical emergency and United Airlines officials say they only learned about the man’s COVID-related symptoms after the plane was back in the air.

“The decision to continue on to Los Angeles was made after the medical professionals initially ruled the emergency as cardiac distress,” United said in a statement. “A change in aircraft was not warranted. Instead, passengers were given the option to deplane and take a later flight or continue on to Los Angeles. All passengers opted to continue.”

If you missed it, make sure to read what a passenger on the flight was saying on Twitter in the middle of the emergency.