December 3, 2024
Suspected Food Poisoning: 34 Sick on JAL and United Flights From Guam to Tokyo

Suspected Food Poisoning: 34 Sick on JAL and United Flights From Guam to Tokyo

34 passengers aboard two separate flights with JAL and United Airlines from Guam to Tokyo have become ill with suspected food poisoning on 8 November.
Kentaro Iemoto from Tokyo, Japan, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

34 passengers on two separate flights from Guam to Japan have become ill with suspected food poisoning. The 34 sick passengers on board the two flights, which both landed at Tokyo Narita Airport from Guam, included a group of high school students.

It is understood that the high school students were returning to Japan after a trip to Guam.

Japan Airlines & United Airlines Flights: 34 Sick


According to the Tokyo Narita airport office, 16 passengers were aboard a Japan Airlines scheduled flight. The other 18 affected were aboard a United Airlines flight. All 34 passengers presented with symptoms such as vomiting after both flights landed at Tokyo Narita airport on Thursday night.

The symptoms experienced by the affected passengers led to a conclusion of suspected food poisoning.

Authorities referred 14 of those affected to hospital after landing in Tokyo. According to local news reports, some passengers had reported feeling sick before they boarded the flight. Japan Airlines told airport officials that it did not believe that in-flight meals were the cause.

Officials suspect that the group contracted the illness whilst in Guam. This would account for the fact that those who fell ill were on two separate flights.

Alec Wilson from Khon Kaen, Thailand, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Flight Details


The two flights at the centre of the incident were Japan Airlines flight JL942, and United Airlines flight UA873. Both flights had originated from Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport (GUM) in the United States territory of Guam.

Flight data shows that the two flights departed from Guam and landed at Tokyo Narita Airport (NRT) within approximately 30 minutes of each other.

Japan Airlines flight JL942, operated by a Boeing 767-300ER, departed Guam at 1625 local time and landed Tokyo at 1912 local time.

United Airlines flight UA873, operated by a Boeing 737-800, departed Guam at 1713 local time and landed Tokyo at 1928 local time.

Click the banner to subscribe to our weekly Emergencies and Incidents newsletter.

Click the photo to join our WhatsApp channel so then you can stay up to date with everything going on in the aviation industry!

Facebook
Twitter (X)
LinkedIn
Pinterest
Reddit
WhatsApp
Email
Threads

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *