Passenger who grounded plane after false coronavirus claim 'wanted to make viral video'

Bonnie Christian5 February 2020

A Canadian man who forced a flight from Toronto to Jamaica to turn around after he claimed he had coronavirus has said he pulled the stunt because he wanted to make a viral video.

James Potok, 28, was arrested on Monday after police said he lied about having the deadly virus on a WestJet airlines flight with 243 passengers onboard.

He told Global News: “Well, I had my camera with me. I was looking to get a viral video. I was looking to get it up on all the social media platforms.

“It seemed to me like this was in poor taste, in retrospect. What I did, I stood up, I said, ‘Can I have everybody’s attention? I just came back from Hunan Province — and that was it.”

“I figured it would invoke some type of reaction, not on the plane... more people seeing on social media, going, ‘Wow, this kid’s got some balls,’ or, ‘This kid is crazy.’”

The plane was on its way to Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay when it was disrupted by "an unruly guest".

It returned to Toronto, where police said paramedics were waiting to assess the passenger.

After the plane landed, the man was checked by medical staff who found he did not have any symptoms.

A WestJet flight was grounded after a passenger made a fake claim he had coronavirus
AFP via Getty Images

Police said on Tuesday Mr Potok was arrested, charged with mischief and will appear in court on March 9.

Tiffany Richards told Global News that she and her mother were on the flight at the time of the incident. She said she was asleep when a man about eight rows away from her got up and made an announcement.

“What he basically said (is), ‘I need everyone’s attention. I have just returned from Wuhan, one of the capital cities of China, and it’s an epicentre for the coronavirus,” she recalled.

“I’m feeling really, really sick right now. I think I might be infected. I need everyone to stay away from me, like please don’t come near me.

“He repeated himself a couple of times, and that was that. And he sat down.”

Julie-Anne Broderick, another passenger on the plane, said she saw the man taking a selfie and announcing he had the virus.

Coronavirus - In pictures

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"The flight attendants came, gave him a mask and gloves and just told him that he had to move to the back of the plane," she told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

The captain then told passengers he thought the incident was a hoax but had to return to Toronto, she added.

WestJet apologised for the incident, saying it was obliged to follow protocols for infectious disease on board.

"Out of an abundance of caution, our crew followed all protocols for infectious disease on board, including sequestering an individual who made an unfounded claim regarding coronavirus," it said in a statement.

Mr Potok, who describes himself as an artist, told Global News he flies to Jamaica several times a year and he had made a similar type of on-board announcement previously but he was extremely apologetic about the latest incident.

“Any publicity for myself is good publicity,” he said, but added that he was “wrong”.

“I ruined the flight for 200-and-some-odd people. I ruined their flight,” he said.

“There’s all types of positions — people that are happy, people that are upset. But in the end, I ruined the people on the plane’s trip — so I’m extremely apologetic.”

Hong Kong reported its first coronavirus death on Tuesday, the second fatality outside mainland China from a fast-spreading outbreak that has killed nearly 500 people.

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