Passengers, crew on Virgin flight quarantined in UK

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/>