12 people on flights to Philadelphia have flu symptoms

Twelve passengers on international flights who landed at the Philadelphia International Airport on Thursday have flu-like symptoms, airport officials said.

A total of about 250 passengers, plus crew members, aboard two flights of American Airlines – flight 755 from Paris and flight 717 from Munich – were held for a medical examination Thursday, said a spokesman for Philadelphia International Airport. With the exception of 12 passengers with flu-like symptoms, everyone was allowed to be released, the statement said.

Benjamin Haynes, spokesperson for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, confirmed to TIME that the CDC was involved in the assessment of passengers.

"CDC is aware of two American Airlines flights from Paris and Germany that arrived at PHL Airport this afternoon with sick passengers on board," said Haynes. in a statement. "The CDC and Philadelphia public health officials worked with EMS and [Customs and Border Protection] officials to assess and test passengers sick for the flu and other respiratory diseases. Twelve passengers on both reported flights [a] sore throat and cough; none has been identified with fever. None of the passengers are seriously ill and they will be released and informed of the test results within 24 hours. "

A representative of American Airlines told TIME that all passengers were disembarking normally and that neither passengers nor planes were quarantined. Medical examinations took place after the passengers disembarked planes.

The incident comes just a day after 11 people from Dubai, on an Emirates flight, were hospitalized after landing at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. The test results of these patients were positive for influenza, and all but one had been released on Thursday afternoon. The remaining patient was admitted for treatment against influenza.