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Gov. Mike Huckabee was on 'quarantined' plane at Nashville airport

A Nashville airport spokesperson says a passenger had been talking about a recent illness when other passengers on board became worried about exposure.
Mike Huckabee speaks during a news conference for his upcoming television show on TBN at the station's Hendersonville campus Oct. 2, 2017. (Photo: Alan Poizner / For the Tennessean)

Former Arkansas governor and two-time Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee said he was stuck on a "quarantined" plane Thursday morning at Nashville International Airport.

Tweeting from the plane, Huckabee said at 5:31 a.m. the red eye American Airlines flight from Los Angeles had been on the ground for 40 minutes and passengers were told "someone on board is sick."

Leslie Mayo, a spokesperson for American Airlines, said flight 1289 landed just before 5 a.m. and has been moved to a "remote area of the airport" while paramedics evaluate a passenger.

Just before 7 a.m., Nashville International Airport spokesperson Shannon Sumrall confirmed passengers had been released from the plane.

In a statement, Sumrall said the passenger in question had been "medically cleared by a physician prior to the flight" but did not have paperwork.

The passenger "was talking about the recent illness and other passengers on board became worried of exposure," Sumrall said. The flight crew notified the airport.

"For safety, passengers were held by BNA Police until contact was made with the physician to confirm clearance, which it was," Sumrall said.

Huckabee jokes about Russia, straws to blame for plane delay

"Can't get up to go to bathroom or get off plane," Huckabee wrote as he was waiting.

He then began making jokes, blaming the inconvenience on current events.

"It's the Russians!" Huckabee tweeted. "I just know it."

It wasn't the first time Huckabee has joked blaming unpleasant circumstances on "Russian meddling" in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

"Hope it's not because I got that straw in CA!" he followed in another tweet, referencing bans on plastic straws in some California cities.

Huckabee's weekly talk show, which airs on Trinity Broadcasting Network, is filmed in Hendersonville.

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