Advertisement BPHC: No public health concern after passengers fall ill on flight Crews in hazmat suits, ambulances surrounded Emirates flight after landing at Logan Share Shares Copy Link Copy

The five sick passengers on an Emirates Airlines flight that prompted a hazmat situation at Logan on Monday do not meet criteria for infections of public health concern, including Ebola, according to the Boston Public Health Commission.Watch the report | Images: Sick passengers prompt hazmat scare at LoganBPHC officials released a statement and said that after discussing the situation with health officials at Boston Medical Center and Massachusetts General Hospital, the Boston Public Health Commission's Infectious Disease bureau determined that the passengers didn't meet any of the criteria for any infections of public health concern, including the Ebola virus, meningoccal infection, or MERS."As always, our priority is the safety and health of the Boston community," the BPHC said in a statement. "We consistently work through a number of channels to ensure that our network of care providers communicate and are effectively prepared to treat and control the spread of any infectious disease in our city."Emergency crews in hazardous materials suits boarded an Emirates Airlines flight that landed at Boston Logan International Airport around 2:30 p.m. after getting word that five passengers came down with flu-like symptoms."We were traveling and I could hear him coughing and coughing," Hanan Bahnassi, a passenger who sat in front of three of the sick passengers, said. "He was coughing all the time and I didn't know he was that sick."Massport officials said Emirates Flight 237 from Dubai arrived at the gate and was immediately surrounded by ambulances and emergency crews who dressed in hazmat suits out of abundance of caution."We landed and they pretty much told us that we were going to have to wait on the plane for a while," passenger Tracy Barahona said. "It looks like it's something out of a movie. It's not something you're expecting."Members of Boston EMS and Massport Fire Rescue then wore the protective clothing and entered the airplane around 3:15 p.m. to assess the sick passengers."They got the people who were not feeling well, and they got them dressed and took them away," passenger Pratap Nambiar said.All five were removed from the aircraft and were taken to nearby hospitals to be examined.Sick passengers taken to Mass. GeneralNone of the passengers who presented flu-like symptoms had come from West Africa, but many had come from a pilgrimage in Mecca.After the ill passengers were removed from the aircraft around 5 p.m., the remaining 182 passengers and 19 crew members were allowed to disembark and cleared customs.Emirates was the first major international airline to suspend flights to West Africa in August.International airports around the country are on alert for Ebola, but there was no indication the sick passengers had Ebola.