RICHMOND -
Holiday travelers at R-I-C aren't just worried about missing flights and extra fees for checked baggage, they're worried about sick passengers getting on their flight.
"Yes, I've thought about it because there's so much talk about the swine flu, but I just keep washing my hands and using hand sanitizer" says Alice Zimak. She's traveling with her family to California this Thanksgiving. Zimak says she talks to her children constantly about washing their hands and making sure they cover their mouths when they cough and sneeze.
Jenny Riley was at the airport waiting on her nephew to land. They're gearing up for the holiday and she says when she's in the airport and taking trips across the country she does think about sick passengers. "It's not enough to make me worried. I just go and hope for the best" Riley tells CBS 6.
She and others were glad to learn that airport officials have the power to remove someone from a flight if they appear too sick to fly. Spokesperson Troy Bell tells CBS 6 that it could happen at various points. From the ticket counter to the checkpoint where passengers are screened, to the gates.
If a person is flagged for being too ill to travel the person is pulled to the side and screened over the phone by a health care worker Bell says. Then a decision is made.
Bell says he can't recall a case recently where a person was taken off of a flight because of health reasons. Doctors say this holiday travel season is also a good time to remind people to wash hands often, use hand sanitizer when they can't get to soap and water and to not feel bad if they have to politely ask someone to cover their cough or sneeze with a tissue.
"Yes, I've thought about it because there's so much talk about the swine flu, but I just keep washing my hands and using hand sanitizer" says Alice Zimak. She's traveling with her family to California this Thanksgiving. Zimak says she talks to her children constantly about washing their hands and making sure they cover their mouths when they cough and sneeze.
Jenny Riley was at the airport waiting on her nephew to land. They're gearing up for the holiday and she says when she's in the airport and taking trips across the country she does think about sick passengers. "It's not enough to make me worried. I just go and hope for the best" Riley tells CBS 6.
She and others were glad to learn that airport officials have the power to remove someone from a flight if they appear too sick to fly. Spokesperson Troy Bell tells CBS 6 that it could happen at various points. From the ticket counter to the checkpoint where passengers are screened, to the gates.
If a person is flagged for being too ill to travel the person is pulled to the side and screened over the phone by a health care worker Bell says. Then a decision is made.
Bell says he can't recall a case recently where a person was taken off of a flight because of health reasons. Doctors say this holiday travel season is also a good time to remind people to wash hands often, use hand sanitizer when they can't get to soap and water and to not feel bad if they have to politely ask someone to cover their cough or sneeze with a tissue.
