April 1, 2003
Flight AA128 held at SJC: possible SARS cases onboard
This one hits me personally: American Airlines flight AA128 held at SJC (I refuse to call it "Norman Mineta International"): possible SARS cases onboard.
Fox News is showing a live feed from the tarmac. What they don't mention is that this is the only daily flight from Tokyo's Narita airport to San Jose (I know it well, personally, from too many trips), and the most inconvenient: passengers disembark onto the tarmac, walk into an immigration area, pass that area, pick up their luggage, pass through Customs, give back their luggage to a baggage transport, and travel by bus to the main terminal... where they wait for their luggage again at another baggage carousel! This SARS incident adds another potentially dangerous element to an an otherwise simply annoying travel gauntlet.
Apparently this flight originated in Hong Kong on its way to Narita outbound for San Jose. Fox News reports that the tourist industry in Hong Kong has all but shut down. I've spent a total of a couple of months in the last 3 years in Hong Kong, and really worry for my family there. I wish them health and safety.
Posted by Russell Whitaker at April 1, 2003 1:36 PM | TrackBackRuss
Interestingly, I just saw this on FoxNews and thought of you.
We'll keep your Hong Kong relations in our thoughts.
Steve
Posted by: Steve Pegram on April 1, 2003 2:04 PMHi Steve; many thanks!
BTW, I was listening to news radio in my car a few minutes ago, and noted that they said the plane stopped in Hong Kong on the way to SJC from Narita. I'm very sure that was a mistake: it's a nonstop from Tokyo... it must have stopped in Tokyo after having originated in Hong Kong.
Stopping in Hong Kong wouldn't make any sense for that route anyway, not for a trans-Pacific flight... don't the local yokels ever do their fact-checking before airing a slug from a newsfeed?
Posted by: Russell Whitaker on April 1, 2003 2:25 PM