All passengers and crew on a charter flight from Barbados to London were briefly put into quarantine because of widespread illness on board. Virgin Atlantic said Wednesday 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. Passenger Trevor Wilson said that paramedics initially checked people on board and then the entire group was bussed to the reception centre for more assessment. "They basically quarantined us," said Wilson, 61. "From the time we touched down till the time we left it was about five hours. I have no problem with Virgin or Gatwick's response. This doesn't happen often." A South East Coast Ambulance Service spokesman said it treated about 30 people with various complaints and that three had been taken to a hospital for further checks. Swiss-based cruise line MSC Cruises, which operates the ship, said the company is investigating and seeking reports from doctors treating the passengers.<br/>
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Ryanair is in early discussions with Airbus about a future order for some 100 A321 aircraft for its recently acquired subsidiary Laudamotion, CE Michael O’Leary said Wednesday. The carrier is also interested in the latest Boeing narrow-body model - the 737 MAX 10 - for its all-Boeing main fleet “at the right price” but those conditions do not exist currently, O’Leary said. Any future order of Airbus A321s for Austrian unit Laudamotion would most likely not include fewer than 100 aircraft, O’Leary said. “With Airbus we are talking about the possibility of A321s for Laudamotion but that is at the very initial stages,” O’Leary said. Asked how many aircraft might be involved, he said, “I would not see any point in having an order if it is less than 100 aircraft – 50 firm and 50 options.” Such an order would be worth at least $6.5b at current list prices.<br/>
Gulf Air has taken delivery of a second Airbus A320neo, but the re-engined type remains relatively sparse in the Middle Eastern region. Gulf Air received its first A320neo, powered by CFM International Leap-1A engines, in August last year. By the end of January carriers in the Middle East had received three directly-ordered aircraft – one A320neo apiece for Gulf Air and SalamAir, with Arkia picking up an A321neo. Arkia has also indirectly taken a second A321neo while Flynas and Jazeera Airways have each received an A320neo. Middle Eastern carriers have directly ordered 264 A320neo and A321neo jets, but only 1% of them have so far been delivered, compared with 12% of the 1,770 Asia-Pacific orders and 10% of the 1,107 European orders. The region had originally been set to receive the first ever A320neo but launch customer Qatar Airways dropped out of line, eventually replacing its deal with an order for 50 A321neos, the first of which it is yet to receive.<br/>