'A complete nightmare’: NC couple who tested positive allowed to fly commercial

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Flight attendants have been voicing their concerns to Channel 9 about flying during the coronavirus pandemic since last week, and some have been left with even more questions.

An American Airlines flight attendant said she and her peers heard the news this weekend about Laurin and Marilyn White -- a couple who reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 and boarded an American Airlines flight from Atlanta to Charlotte.

[Coronavirus: Couple who tested positive released from quarantine, allowed to fly from Atlanta to Charlotte]

The flight attendant sent Channel 9 a statement, saying, “Hearing of this situation adds to the fear and confusion of this virus."

She wants to know why the couple was allowed to fly on a commercial flight.

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Channel 9 reporter Tina Terry asked American if it was aware of the situation. It didn't provide a direct answer, but said, “The CDC advises citizens to not travel if they are sick."

The couple's daughter, Lauri Lyn Hodges, said her parents were on the virus-stricken Grand Princess cruise ship earlier this month. She said the original plan was to have them fly out earlier in the week, but she encouraged them to request a charter flight out of “moral responsibility."

"It's been a complete nightmare," she said.

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The Whites were taken to Georgia hospitals, and eventually to a quarantine hotel near Atlanta. Hodges said her parents had just received positive COVID-19 tests a week before the cruise line booked their Friday flight home to North Carolina.

“I’m fuming because I don’t understand why they’re allowed to go on a commercial flight,” Hodges said. "They treated it initially like they were a biohazard threat, then a week later they were like, ‘Just put them on whatever flight and expose the public.’”

Hodges said her mother had a fever two days before the flight.

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Channel 9 also asked again if American would consider grounding all flights for a few weeks -- something some flight attendants said they want.

The airline’s CEO said the $2 trillion stimulus bill encourages airlines to keep flying in order to receive aid from the government.

Hodges said there were about 30 other people on her parents’ flight. Channel 9 asked American if those people would be notified.

The airline said the CDC is responsible for notifying them if a customer or team member tests positive. At that point, their medical team works with the CDC on notifications.

Hodges said she ordered a North Carolina car service to take her parents home to Greensboro from the Charlotte airport. She said she was unable to pick them up because both she and her child have health issues, and she was not comfortable being in the car with her parents before they received negative test results.

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