100 sick, Emirates flight struck by illness

AS many as 100 passengers and crew reported feeling ill during an Emirates flight from Dubai to New York, with health workers evaluating them as the plane sat on the tarmac of JFK International Airport, authorities said.

About 100 people complained of feeling sick on Emirates Flight 203, which landed with at least 521 passengers shortly after 9am local time (11pm AEST) on Wednesday at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in a statement.

The pilot reported that two male passengers had very high fevers and that dozens were "coughing nonstop," according to ABC News.

Passenger Larry Coben tweeted images of emergency vehicles surrounding the giant aircraft.

Investigators are still working to pinpoint what caused the passengers to fall ill, but their symptoms are consistent with the flu, officials said.

Nineties pop star Vanilla Ice, who was on the plane, tweeted: "This is crazy. Apparently there is over 100 people sick on the bottom floor, so happy I'm up top, it's a double-decker plane 380."

The plane, which according to FlightAware.com is an Airbus A380, has been quarantined, according to the mayor's office.

The Port Authority of New York said the plane was taken to a separate park of the airport.

The giant aircraft had at least 500 passengers on the almost 14-hour flight.

Port Authority police also waited in a staging area along with the CDC officials.