Man Says He Has Coronavirus Mid-Air in Flight; Pilot Forced to Take Hard Step

A man on board a flight dishonestly pretended he had coronavirus, pushing the plane to turn around.

The WestJet service had been en route to Montego Bay, Jamaica, from Toronto, Canada, when the 29-year-old Canadian national announced he had the deadly virus.

“A male was causing a disturbance on the flight, saying he had been to China and had the coronavirus,” a Reuters report quoted a police spokeswoman as saying.

According to other passengers, the man was seen taking selfies and announcing that he had the virus.

Although the pilot believed it to be a trick, he had no choice but to take the precaution of turning the aircraft around and heading back to Toronto.

The crew gave the man gloves and a mask to wear and told him to sit at the back of the plane.

He has since been arrested and charged with mischief and will appear in court on March 9.

A WestJet spokesperson told The Independent: “WestJet flight 2702 from Toronto to Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica diverted back to Toronto due to an unruly guest. We sincerely apologise to the 243 guests who were affected by this unfortunate situation. Due to yesterday’s subsequent cancellations of flight 2702 and 2703, we added an extra segment flight that departed Toronto today at 6.45 am local and will return from Montego Bay at 11.50am local."