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Public health officials in the US city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have warned passengers of a potential measles exposure incident at 
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) earlier this month. The incident involved a passenger who was at the airport for just under five hours on a Sunday night, and it is not thought to be related to a recent exposure at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP).
This incident highlights the high-risk nature of airport environments when it comes to disease transmission, with large crowds of flyers from all over the world frequently coming into contact with each other and handling shared touchpoints. With this in mind, public health officials in Philadelphia are encouraging flyers who were in the airport at the same time as the infected individual to check their symptoms.
Philadelphia Airport’s Latest Measles Exposure
According to a recent statement released by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, a passenger with measles transited at the city’s airport on the night of Sunday, September 13. They were there from 7:25 PM to 12:05 AM on Monday, September 14, during a layover that lasted just under five hours. During this time, they used “Terminals B, F, and areas used to connect to other terminals in C, D, and E.”
Given the busy nature of airports like Philadelphia, and that, as Fox News notes, measles is the “world’s most contagious virus,” flyers who were in these parts of the facility during these hours are being asked to look out for symptoms. They have also been asked to check their vaccine status, although, with the individual having not left the airport, the wider risk may be low. Dr Palak Raval-Nelson said:
“Every Philadelphian who is fully vaccinated has little to fear from the situation at CHOP and the airport. Even more importantly, every one of those people is doing their part to help protect our most vulnerable from measles.”
A Recurring Theme In US Aviation
As it happens, this is not the first time this year that this Airport has found itself at the center of a measles exposure situation. Indeed, as Simple Flying reported at the time, another such incident occurred in January, when a passenger with measles landed in Philadelphia and headed into the city before picking up a train to Virginia. At the same time, Baltimore Airport (BWI) also faced an exposure warning.
2025 also saw several high-profile measles exposure cases at major airports located all over the United States of America. These involved large hubs such as Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) in Arizona, Denver International Airport (DEN) in Colorado, and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) in Illinois. Elsewhere, LAX had two incidents involving long-haul flights from Taiwan and Qatar.
With vaccines for measles having long been available, most passengers will likely be immunized against the disease. However, as noted by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health, it does pose a risk to “anyone who is not immune, is unsure of their vaccination status, is an infant, is pregnant and not immune, or is immunocompromised.” With that being said, post-exposure treatment can reduce its severity.
Why Are Airports So Conducive To Disease Transmission?
Measles is not the only disease that is liable to be spread at major airports. Indeed, Simple Flying reported just last month that two workers at Frankfurt Airport (FRA) in Hessen had died of malaria following an outbreak at the German hub after a mosquito arrived on a flight, with four others infected. Sadly, the death toll from this outbreak has since risen to three, but why are airports so conducive to transmission?
According to AIP, MIT researchers have developed a computer model that ranks major US hubs based on their likelihood of diseases being spread on site. This is based on factors such as traffic levels, network size, the proportion of long-haul flights, and the number of flyers transiting on layovers. Cornell University adds that, as “densely populated areas where air ventilation and proper hygiene are not strictly enforced” with frequently touched surfaces, airports and aircraft are ripe for transmission.
