Passengers and crew on a Virgin Atlantic flight from Barbados were quarantined after landing at Gatwick airport due to widespread sickness on board.

The Airbus A330 aircraft was met by the emergency services on arrival at 5.30am after an eight-hour flight from Bridgetown.

One of the passengers, Trevor Wilson, said they were held on the plane for more than 90 minutes.

He wrote on Twitter: “This flight was exclusively cruise passengers from the MSC Preziosa. The illness seems to have originated on board ship not the plane. Five members of cabin crew became sick on flight.”

He said that the sickness was “mainly a bad chesty cough, possibly chest infection”.

A South East Coast ambulance service spokesman confirmed assistance was called just before 5am “following reports of a number of passengers and crew feeling unwell and nauseous”. About 30 people were treated at the scene, three of whom were taken to hospital for further checks.
“We sent ambulance crews including our hazardous area response team and a number of other specialist paramedics to the scene,” the spokesman said.

A Virgin Atlantic spokeswoman said: “A number of customers onboard the VS610, which landed at London Gatwick this morning from Barbados, reported feeling unwell. As a precaution the plane was met by the relevant authorities who made the decision to screen everyone onboard, in line with standard health and safety procedures.

“The wellbeing of our customers and crew is always our priority, and we are supporting those affected.”