Narrative:

On dec/xa/98, I flew a flight from frankfurt, germany, to chicago, il. I saw something that I had not encountered before on a flight. A family of 3 came on the airplane with a boy about 3 yrs old. The boy had pox-like marks on him. His skin color was a very gray and his eyes were glassy. The captain and the ground crew debated about taking them on the flight because of their concern regarding the little boy's health. They decided he did not have chicken pox and shut the door on a B777 full of passenger and headed for chicago. During the 9 hour flight the boy slept a lot for someone his age. The boy's parents were from a middle eastern country. Though the mother had united states passport she was dressed head to toe so that only her eyes were not covered. I was concerned that we were exposing everyone on the flight, and then everyone they came in contact with with chicken pox, or something worse. My airline normally practices very good safety standards. In the 28 yrs that I have worked for them I have never seen them cut corners regarding a safety related matter. I think we need better guidelines regarding transporting passenger that appear to have some kind of communicable disease. I am also worried about germ warfare and I do not think airline employees have received any training in these 2 areas and could be used to spread illness or diseases due to ignorance. I feel that this matter should be addressed as soon as possible. During recurrent flight attendant training as long as 5 yrs ago we were told that we have only seen the tip of the iceberg of terrorism in this country. I am writing this letter as a person concerned about the safety and health of all human beings and the security of the united states.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: PAX ON A B777 WHO MAY ALSO BE A CABIN ATTENDANT FOR THE ACR INVOLVED COMPLAINS ABOUT THE CAPT PERMITTING A SICK CHILD PAX BOARD THE ACFT WITH THE CHILD'S PARENTS. RPTR BELIEVES THAT THE CHILD MAY HAVE HAD SOME COMMUNICABLE DISEASE AND BELIEVES THAT THE COMPANY HAS NOT TRAINED ITS EMPLOYEES TO RECOGNIZE AND RESTRICT SUCH PAX.

Narrative: ON DEC/XA/98, I FLEW A FLT FROM FRANKFURT, GERMANY, TO CHICAGO, IL. I SAW SOMETHING THAT I HAD NOT ENCOUNTERED BEFORE ON A FLT. A FAMILY OF 3 CAME ON THE AIRPLANE WITH A BOY ABOUT 3 YRS OLD. THE BOY HAD POX-LIKE MARKS ON HIM. HIS SKIN COLOR WAS A VERY GRAY AND HIS EYES WERE GLASSY. THE CAPT AND THE GND CREW DEBATED ABOUT TAKING THEM ON THE FLT BECAUSE OF THEIR CONCERN REGARDING THE LITTLE BOY'S HEALTH. THEY DECIDED HE DID NOT HAVE CHICKEN POX AND SHUT THE DOOR ON A B777 FULL OF PAX AND HEADED FOR CHICAGO. DURING THE 9 HR FLT THE BOY SLEPT A LOT FOR SOMEONE HIS AGE. THE BOY'S PARENTS WERE FROM A MIDDLE EASTERN COUNTRY. THOUGH THE MOTHER HAD UNITED STATES PASSPORT SHE WAS DRESSED HEAD TO TOE SO THAT ONLY HER EYES WERE NOT COVERED. I WAS CONCERNED THAT WE WERE EXPOSING EVERYONE ON THE FLT, AND THEN EVERYONE THEY CAME IN CONTACT WITH WITH CHICKEN POX, OR SOMETHING WORSE. MY AIRLINE NORMALLY PRACTICES VERY GOOD SAFETY STANDARDS. IN THE 28 YRS THAT I HAVE WORKED FOR THEM I HAVE NEVER SEEN THEM CUT CORNERS REGARDING A SAFETY RELATED MATTER. I THINK WE NEED BETTER GUIDELINES REGARDING TRANSPORTING PAX THAT APPEAR TO HAVE SOME KIND OF COMMUNICABLE DISEASE. I AM ALSO WORRIED ABOUT GERM WARFARE AND I DO NOT THINK AIRLINE EMPLOYEES HAVE RECEIVED ANY TRAINING IN THESE 2 AREAS AND COULD BE USED TO SPREAD ILLNESS OR DISEASES DUE TO IGNORANCE. I FEEL THAT THIS MATTER SHOULD BE ADDRESSED ASAP. DURING RECURRENT FLT ATTENDANT TRAINING AS LONG AS 5 YRS AGO WE WERE TOLD THAT WE HAVE ONLY SEEN THE TIP OF THE ICEBERG OF TERRORISM IN THIS COUNTRY. I AM WRITING THIS LETTER AS A PERSON CONCERNED ABOUT THE SAFETY AND HEALTH OF ALL HUMAN BEINGS AND THE SECURITY OF THE UNITED STATES.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.