Travel

Aussie tourists hospitalised with flu after flying back from Bali

May 21, 2019

The two victims had been flying back home to Australia from Bali. Source: Getty

Australians who visited Bali recently, flying with Jetstar and Air Asia, have complained of developing horrible flu symptoms, according to their anguished Facebook posts.

Jetstar passenger Hayley Taylor took to social media on Monday to reveal she had been in hospital overnight with a high fever and flu-related symptoms. She had flown back from her holiday in Bali on Thursday.

Posting on the Facebook group Bali Bogans, she wrote: “I have been in hospital overnight with a high fever and flu related symptoms. I traveled back from Bali on Jetstar on Thursday 16th May 8.30am. There was a gentleman on the plane with a violent cough, I hope he has had himself checked over.”

Hayley Taylor had flown back from her holiday in Bali on Thursday. Source: Facebook – Hayley Taylor

However, Taylor made it clear in a separate post on Facebook that Bali itself “is not to blame”.

She wrote: “Influenza A shows it’s side effects from two days after being affected (what I was told in emergency) and this lines up with the plane flight I was on. The person who travelled on the flight could have been on a connecting flight from anywhere around the world, it’s not Bali’s fault.”

A Jetstar spokesperson told Travel at 60: “If customers have an illness that could make it unsafe for them to travel we require them to let us know. Some illnesses may prevent customers from flying and we set out advice for travellers on our website.”

Meanwhile, another passenger said she had become hospitalised after contracting the flu. She had flown back from her holiday in Bali on an Air Asia flight earlier this month.

“I have somehow caught it from either Bali or on the plane however we are unsure,” she explained. “I know there were kids on the flight, so please do the right thing and get them checked out please. I’ve [been] hospitalised and bed ridden in isolation for five days.”

An Air Asia spokesperson told Travel at 60: “The safety and comfort of our guests is always our number one priority. Guests who are feeling unwell or have an illness should notify our team prior to travel.”