An Emirates plane at JFK International Airport in New York was quarantined after a number of passengers fell ill while on the flight from Dubai. Photo / AP

An Emirates A380 from Dubai prompted a large-scale emergency response at New York's Kennedy Airport after a pilot reported that passengers and crew members had fallen ill, mid-flight.

The Emirates flight, with 520 passengers, was isolated on arrival at 9.10am Wednesday (UST) and was swarmed by police vehicles and ambulances.

It was immediately quarantined for an assessment by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The airline said three passengers and seven flight crew had been taken to hospital for "further medical care and evaluation".

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After disembarking all passengers had been screened by health authorities.

"Nine passengers underwent additional medical screening at the site near the aircraft and were released afterwards," Emirates said.

"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."

Earlier, passenger Erin Sykes posted video of officials wearing masks and gloves taking the temperature of passengers on the tarmac.

In an interview, Sykes said she saw a few passengers being taken off the plane first for medical attention, but she added that "many, many" others were showing signs of illness.

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"Very intense coughing. Violently sick. Going into the bathroom a lot," she said when asked to describe the scene.

Statement: Emirates can confirm that about 10 passengers on #EK203 from Dubai to New York were taken ill. On arrival, as a precaution, they were attended to by local health authorities. All others will disembark shortly. The safety & care of our customers is our first priority.

— Emirates Airline (@emirates) September 5, 2018

By afternoon, there were still conflicting reports about how many people were sick and unanswered questions about the cause.

The airline said about 10 passengers needed medical attention "as a precaution," while the CDC said about 100 of the 520 people aboard the plane were being evaluated after complaining of illness, including cough and fever.

"Passengers who are not ill will be allowed to continue with their travel plans, and if necessary will be followed up with by health officials," the CDC said. There were 521 passengers on board Flight EK203, the CDC said.

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Passenger Larry Coben tweeted images of ambulances and firetrucks on the tarmac surrounding the giant aircraft.

"They have told us people are sick but have seen no evidence," Coben, an archaeologist and founder of the Sustainable Preservation Initiative, posted on Twitter.

Photos from passengers show rows of ambulances and firetrucks on the tarmac. Larry Coben said on Twitter that fellow passengers were asked to fill out CDC forms detailing where people have recently travelled.

A spokesman for New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said 10 people were hospitalised and another eight were being treated at the airport.

Video from news helicopters showed the jet stranded on the tarmac for several minutes before passengers began to emerge.

Those who were cleared were put on buses to get to the terminal. A traveller in the business section of the aircraft, Raghida Dergham, said in an interview that sick passengers were in a "lower level" economy section of the plane.

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"I feel great. I feel fine," she said. "Nobody was alarmed. ... It was handled very well."

But other passengers said they suspected that some passengers were sick before they got on the plane and that the airline should have done more to protect others.

"Why did they allow them on the flight? ... I sat with them for 13 hours. If it's a virus, we're all getting sick," Srinivasa Rao said.

Sykes partly faulted the ill passengers themselves."These people should know not to travel in a confined space with other healthy people," she said. -AP

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