Tout had started so well. On December 19, CNN reports, Marisa F. took off from Chicago International Airport for Switzerland, with a stopover in Iceland being planned. Accompanied by her father and brother, the teacher had taken all her precautions: in the days preceding the trip, she had done two PCR tests and five self-tests, all negative. Unfortunately, barely an hour and a half after takeoff, the 30-something started to have a sore throat and headache. Immediately, she decides to carry out a new self-test. And this time, it is indeed positive.
Immediately, Marisa panics. She is positive for the virus on a plane where her 70-year-old father and brother are sitting right next to her. In tears, the teacher decides to warn a hostess, Ragnhildur Eiríksdóttir. The latter manages to calm the young woman, and suggests that she go and find a new isolated place, somewhere in the apparatus – without success. “When she came back and told me that there was no suitable seat, I decided to go to the toilet,” explains Marisa, who refuses to sit near other passengers.
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Icelandic Christmas
The hostess accepts the proposal of her passenger, and then decides to add an “out of service” sign on the WCs concerned. Then begins a long attack: for three hours, Marisa will wait from her little cabin. To wait, she buys something to be able to access the Internet and makes a video posted on her TikTok account, recounting her mishap. Since then, the footage has been viewed by over 4 million people.
Finally, the plane lands in Iceland. Marisa and her family come out last. Tested negative, the father and brother can continue their journey to Switzerland. But for the teacher, ten long days of confinement in an Icelandic hotel will begin. Despite the situation, Marisa keeps smiling: “Honestly, it’s pretty easy, especially thanks to Rocky [le surnom de l’hôtesse qui s’est occupée d’elle] and the kindness of the Icelanders ”.
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On Christmas Eve, Rocky even sent the teacher some gifts to console her. His confinement ended Thursday, December 30. To mark the occasion, her family decided to cut short their stay in Switzerland and join them in Iceland, where they will spend a few days before returning to the United States. And this time, there is no question of traveling in the toilet!