Eurowings EW9631 From Rhodes Lands at Düsseldorf With Ill Passengers, Three Taken to Hospital

Eurowings flight EW9631 from Rhodes asked for a priority landing at Düsseldorf on the evening of Sunday, October 18, 2026, after several passengers on board reported feeling unwell. Three passengers were taken to hospital as a precaution, and the cause of the illness had not been confirmed at the time of writing.

The flight was operated by an Airbus A321 registered D-AIDT, according to The Aviation Herald. Eurowings has confirmed the priority landing to German media.

What happened on the flight

As the jet neared Düsseldorf, the crew reported that several passengers were unwell and asked for medical services to meet the aircraft, The Aviation Herald reports. The flight was moved up in the arrival sequence and landed safely on runway 23L before taxiing to the apron.

Reporting by t-online puts 212 passengers and seven crew members on board. The Aviation Herald gives a total of 215 people on board, so the exact count is unclear.

Emergency vehicles were sent to the aircraft at around 10 p.m. local time, t-online reports. A mass casualty alert, known in Germany as a MANV, was raised, and at least 10 ambulances and other emergency vehicles attended.

The Düsseldorf city fire brigade supported the airport’s own fire service with numerous personnel, according to t-online. According to The Aviation Herald, fire services reported that a number of passengers had gastrointestinal infections.

Three passengers were treated on site and then taken to hospital as a precaution, Joyn newstime reports. Eurowings said all the other passengers were able to leave the airport directly.

What Eurowings and the airport said

A Eurowings spokesperson told German television, as quoted by t-online, that the cause of the passengers’ complaints was still unclear and was being investigated. The airline added that the safety and health of passengers and crew were its top priority.

A Düsseldorf Airport spokesperson confirmed a medical incident after the Rhodes flight landed on Sunday evening. The spokesperson said airport operations were not affected and did not name a cause.

A norovirus outbreak is suspected, according to German media reports and The Aviation Herald, but it has not been confirmed. Eurowings said the cause was still unclear, and none of the reports cites a test result.

The Aviation Herald reports that the A321 was still on the ground in Düsseldorf about 25 hours after landing. The report does not give a reason for the stay.

Why Rhodes and norovirus are being mentioned together

Rhodes has been dealing with a large wave of viral gastroenteritis since the summer of 2026. Rhodes General Hospital recorded 1,384 cases between August 13 and September 21, an average of about 35 patients a day, To Vima reported on September 26.

Two days later, the hospital’s director of medical services, Michalis Sokorelos, told iefimerida that more than 1,400 cases had been seen since July, which he attributed to a highly contagious norovirus. He said most cases were mild.

Health authorities had not identified a single source for that outbreak as of late September. Tests of Rhodes city’s drinking water network found no contamination, and inspectors were also checking restaurants and food businesses, To Vima reported.

Neither Eurowings nor Düsseldorf Airport has linked the passengers on EW9631 to the outbreak on the island. The connection is context, not a finding.

How a stomach bug ends up on an airliner

Norovirus symptoms usually appear 12 to 48 hours after exposure, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That window means travelers can board a flight feeling fine and fall ill during it.

The CDC lists diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and stomach pain as the main symptoms. The virus spreads through contact with an infected person, contaminated food or drink, and contaminated surfaces, and most people recover within one to three days.

For a flight crew, several passengers falling ill at once is a different problem from a single medical emergency on board. The crew cannot diagnose the cause in flight, so the standard response is to tell air traffic control, get the aircraft on the ground quickly, and have medical teams waiting at the gate.

A priority landing moves the flight ahead of other arrivals. On the ground, a mass casualty alert is meant to bring enough paramedics to the scene when it is not yet clear how many people need care.