Finnair removed woman recovering from cancer from Bangkok flight over hantavirus suspicion

Finnish fitness and wellness entrepreneur Sara Kivimäki was removed from a Finnair flight in Bangkok after a fellow passenger suspected her of carrying hantavirus. The woman had recently completed cancer treatment and her poor condition was due to post-treatment recovery, not a contagious disease. Kivimäki questions how a doctor could declare her unfit to fly without seeing or speaking to her.

Finnish fitness and wellness entrepreneur Sara Kivimäki was left behind from a Finnair flight in Bangkok after a fellow passenger began suspecting her of carrying hantavirus. The commotion on the aircraft ended with the woman being removed from the plane, despite her health problems stemming from an entirely different cause.

Hantavirus shouts on the plane

According to Kivimäki, a man rushed towards her and started shouting loudly: "Hantavirus! Hantavirus!" This sparked panic among other passengers. Flight personnel were informed of the incident and ultimately decided to leave the woman behind. Kivimäki had just completed cancer treatment at the time, and her poor condition was related to post-treatment recovery, not an infectious disease.

"How can a doctor make a decision without seeing or talking to me?"

The woman is upset about what happened. "How can a doctor declare me too sick to fly without seeing me or speaking to me?" said Kivimäki. She believes Finnair's actions were unfair and questions whether one fellow passenger's unsubstantiated suspicion should be sufficient grounds for removing someone from a flight.

Finnair has not publicly commented on what rules it follows in such situations or whether a doctor assessed Kivimäki's condition remotely or in person. The incident has raised broader questions about airlines' procedures for evaluating passengers' health status.