All passengers have disembarked from flight EK 203 flying from Dubai, UAE to JFK International Airport in New York, Emirates Airlines said in a statement, adding they were screened by the local health authorities prior to disembarkation.

Several passengers and crew complained of feeling sick during the 14-hour overnight flight. The flight, with 521 passengers on board, touched down shortly after 9 am local time on Wednesday and was immediately surrounded by dozens of ambulances and other emergency vehicles as anxious passengers waited to be evaluated by health officials.

New York City health officials said they obtained respiratory samples from the patients and their symptoms look like influenza.

"Emirates can confirm that all passengers have disembarked from flight EK 203. All passengers were screened by the local health authorities prior to disembarkation and three passengers and seven crew were transferred to the hospital for further medical care and evaluation. Nine passengers underwent additional medical screening at the site near the aircraft and were released afterwards,” state-run news agency Wam reported, citing the Emirates statement.

“The rest of the passengers were allowed to leave and clear customs. Our crew and onground staff extended our full cooperation with the authorities during the onboard screenings and the aircraft has now been handed back to Emirates,” the airline statement said.

“Due to the delay with the inbound flight, the return flight EK204 from JFK to Dubai will be delayed by approximately 3 hours. Passengers with connecting flights in Dubai who are impacted by the delay will be assisted with re-bookings by our local ground staff.

“We apologise to our customers for any inconvenience caused. The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is always our top priority."

Eric Phillips, spokesman for New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, said it appeared that some of the ill passengers had come from Makkah, which is experiencing a flu outbreak. “Health officials are processing tests now to determine the cause. Symptoms still pointing to the flu,” he tweeted.