Not swine flu: Plane's passengers had too much to drink

LINTHICUM, Md. - There were some tense moments at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport Tuesday night as two passengers had to be evaluated for swine flu.

AirTran Airways Flight 85 from Cancun, Mexico radioed ahead to the airport about the two men, said airport spokesman Jonathan Dean. They had fevers and were sick to their stomachs.

"The airport's fire and rescue department responded," Dean tells WTOP.

"They evaluated the passengers and determined that there was no public health threat. They were actually ill before boarding."

According to David Paulson, spokesman for the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the men had to be isolated and examined to make sure it wasn't swine flu.

The men did not have respiratory distress that accompanies the flu, Paulson says.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Jim Peters says the men just had too much to drink.

The men refused treatment after being evaluated. The rest of the passengers had to stay on the plane for a little under an hour.

Swine flu is suspected in 159 deaths and 2,498 illnesses in Mexico. The U.S. reported its first death Wednesday morning.

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