Puking hell at 38,000ft: 70 passengers fall ill with vomiting bug during flight from Mauritius to Frankfurt

Passengers suffered puking hell at 38,000 feet on Thursday when 70 people fell ill with a vomiting bug mid-way through their flight.

Condor airline Flight DE2315 was travelling from Mauritius to Frankfurt when it became clear that many passengers on board were suffering from the bug.

The aircraft landed in the German city at around 5.33pm where it was greeted with a large contingent of emergency services.

Crew had called ahead to alert officials on the ground of the unfolding emergency.

It was found that 70 of the 290 passengers onboard had suddenly reported symptoms including nausea and vomiting.

Passengers suffered puking hell at 38,000 feet on Thursday when 70 people fell ill with a vomiting bug mid-way through their flight from Mauritius to Frankfurt. Pictured: A Condor airline plane lands at Frankfurt airport on March 23, 2024 (file photo)

A spokesperson for the Germany airline confirmed the incident to the country's Bild tabloid, adding that the crew was not affected by the illness.

'She [the pilot/crew] is also educated and trained for special situations like this,' the statement to the newspaper said.

'After carefully examining the overall situation, the flight continued. The aircraft landed safely in Frankfurt, where medical professionals were available to care for the affected guests.'

The airline, however, did not confirm the cause of the sudden illness, but noted that the food onboard would have been prepared in Mauritius.

'Condor has already initiated an investigation into the case to get to the bottom of the cause and to derive possible measures from it,' the spokeswoman added.

'Condor is working closely with all responsible partners and authorities. There is currently no result available. 

'We generally do not participate in speculation about the cause, for example about individual menus on board that were prepared in Mauritius,' the statement added.

While individuals falling ill while flying is not uncommon, it appears to be less common for several passengers - not to mention 70 - to fall ill at once.

The most extreme case happened in 1975 when a mass outbreak of food poisoning wreaked havoc on a Japan Airlines flight flying from Anchorage, Alaska, to Paris - forcing the plane to land in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Of the 344 people on board, 197 people fell sick with nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal cramps after consuming an in-flight meal contaminated with Staphylococci - the largest food poisoning incident aboard a commercial airliner.

Although there were no fatalities, 44 of the passengers were so severely ill that they required hospitalisation and 30 were in critical condition.

The majority of passengers were Japanese salesmen working for the Coca-Cola company, along with their families, who had won a trip to Paris.

Pictured: Passengers are seen at Frankfurt airport in February (file photo)

As none of the doctors in Denmark spoke Japanese, and only a few of the passengers could speak Danish or English, Japanese speaking staff from Copenhagen's restaurants were called in to the hospital to assist as translators.

An investigation into the incident traced the Staphylococci contamination back to a cook who had prepared the meal in Anchorage.

It was found that they had lesions on one of their hands infected with the bacteria. 

While all victims officially survived the incident, Japan Air Lines' catering manager, - 52-year-old Kenji Kuwabara - committed suicide upon learning that the outbreak of food poisoning had been caused by one of his cooks.