Here's Why You Don't Make Ebola Jokes on an Airplane

A man flying from Philadelphia to the Dominican Republic on Wednesday sneezed and joked, "I have Ebola" — but that joke went terribly, terribly wrong as a team wearing hazmat suits boarded the plane to assess the situation. In a video captured by one of the other passengers, a flight attendant on the US Airways flight lets the group know what happened, candidly explaining, "I've done this for 36 years. I think the man that has said this is an idiot, and I'll say that straight out." Several passengers are seen taping the whole experience, and as the man appears to be led out of the plane, he says, "I ain't from Africa."

The incident comes just days after Thomas Eric Duncan, the Texas Ebola patient, died. Travel has become a key issue, and starting this weekend or next week, those who travel from Liberia, Guinea, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone to the US will be screened upon arrival. Following this US Airways incident, the airline issued a statement, saying, "We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused, but the safety of our customers and employees is our first priority."