Health officials are trying to trace more than 200 Wizz Air passengers after authorities failed to alert the airline that eight travellers on a flight had tested positive for coronavirus, according to reports.
The Guardian reports that eight teenagers from Hampshire were diagnosed after flying to Luton with Wizz Air from Crete on August 25.
“The positive tests should have triggered an urgent response to track down the other 204 passengers on board, but Wizz Air said it had not been made aware of the cases until contacted by the Guardian,” the newspaper said.
The report said that Ben Pearce, 18, was one of 15 friends who tested positive for coronavirus after returning from Crete. At least eight of the group were on the same Wizz Air flight 8168 from Heraklion.
Pearce said NHS test and trace call handlers had contacted him multiple times since Friday but none had asked for his flight details.
Damian Stafford, 52, whose 18-year-old son was among the teenagers who tested positive, said he had not been contacted by the NHS test-and-trace system.
Wizz Air told The Guardian: “Wizz Air was not made aware that eight passengers who travelled on the 8168 flight from Heraklion to London-Luton on 25 August had since tested positive for Covid-19.
“The airline has now informed the relevant health authorities in England who are responsible for contacting and advising the 204 other passengers. Wizz Air operates all flights in compliance with local travel regulations, and the safety of passengers and staff is the No 1 priority.”