- The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed that a Korean Air flight attendant infected with the novel coronavirus serviced a flight to Israel that was previously linked to cases of the virus.
- The flight attendant is believed to have serviced additional flights after returning to South Korea, according to news reports.
- South Korean media is reporting that the flight attendant worked flights between Seoul and Los Angeles, a popular route for the airline.
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The South Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed that a Korean Air flight attendant sickened by the novel coronavirus was aboard a flight from Seoul, South Korea, to Tel Aviv, Israel, that was previously linked to dozens of cases of COVID-19. The flight was operated February 15 with about 200 passengers aboard, the Times of Israel reported.
Though Korean Air has not released the flight attendant’s full routing since contracting the virus, it’s believed that the employee worked additional flights to and from Seoul in the days following the flight to Israel, according to South Korean news outlets, including flights between South Korea and the US.
As reported cases of the virus began to rise in South Korea, multiple nations began restricting entry on visitors from the country, Israel included.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a travel warning for South Korea on Monday, advising against nonessential travel to the country.
Here's the list of flights that were serviced by the Korean Air flight attendant.
Seoul-Tel Aviv-Seoul
The flight attendant serviced KE957, Korean Air's only scheduled service from Seoul to Tel Aviv, on February 15. As Israel's primary airport, Ben Gurion International Airport serves as the main airports for both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, as well as most cities in the northern half of the country, with most visitors to Israel passing through the airport.
The flight was operated by a Boeing 777-200, according to FlightAware data, a type of aircraft that seats more than 200 passengers. The Times of Israel reported that about 200 South Koreans were on board the flight, with over 30 ultimately found to have COVID-19, according to the KCDC.
Seoul-Los Angeles-Seoul
The Los Angeles Times reported that after returning to Seoul, the flight attendant may have operated two additional flights between the South Korean capital and Los Angeles. Those flights, KE17 and KE12, reportedly took place February 19 and February 20, with a one-night layover in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Korean Air operates multiple daily flights between Seoul and Los Angeles with some of its largest aircraft including the Airbus A380 and a Boeing 747-8i. The flights the flight attendant is said to have worked on were operated by the Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger jet, seating more than 400 passengers in Korean Air's configuration.
