San Francisco United flight held at Heathrow airport over coronavirus concerns United flight 900 now flying back to SFO

A United Boeing 777 was temporarily held in London on Feb 14 when a passenger showed signs of the coronavirus infection. A United Boeing 777 was temporarily held in London on Feb 14 when a passenger showed signs of the coronavirus infection. Photo: Chris McGinnis Photo: Chris McGinnis Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close San Francisco United flight held at Heathrow airport over coronavirus concerns 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

A United Airlines flight from San Francisco to London was held at Heathrow airport Friday morning after a person was suspected of having coronavirus.

Flight 901 was one of eight planes on hold at the airport, according to the Daily Mail. A passenger on board told the news site that airline staff took a passenger to the back of the plane and waited for health officials to arrive.

He said the sick person was kept behind and their luggage separated from everyone else's, after passengers were allowed to disembark after 30 minutes of waiting on the plane.

RELATED: 8th case of new coronavirus identified in California: U.S. total is now 15

When asked to confirm the incident, United Airlines provided this statement: "The safety of our customers and employees is our top priority and we are working closely with Public Health England regarding this individual case. Our crews are trained and ready to respond to anyone on board the aircraft who may become ill in flight and we continue to follow additional precautions recommended by the Public Health England. The aircraft has undergone a deep clean, which includes cleaning all surface areas and overhead bins."

A spokesperson confirmed that the aircraft in question, and Boeing 777, is now flying back to SFO as United 900.

The airline has suspended all flights from Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai and Hong Kong until April 24.

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There are now 15 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S., with eight in California.

SFGATE senior travel correspondent Chris McGinnis contributed to this story.

Tessa McLean is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her at tessa.mclean@sfgate.com or follow her on Twitter @mcleantessa.