Denver-Bound Flight Returns To Chicago After Passengers Get Sick

CHICAGO (CBS4) - A flight that left Chicago and was headed for Colorado had to turn around Tuesday morning when several passengers reported feeling sick.

United Airlines Flight 1218 departed O'Hare International Airport at approximately 7:40 a.m. It turned around in midair and landed back in Chicago approximately an hour later.

CBSChicago.com reported that an airline spokesperson said there was a pressurization issue on the plane that led to people have ear problems and feeling sick.

Paramedics checked the passengers once they were back at O'Hare. A United spokesman told CBS4 that nobody needed to be hospitalized.

The flight was rescheduled and passengers arrived in Denver just before 2 p.m.

"I just got in the air and they had mechanical issues with their pressurization system," passenger Michael Herbert said in Denver. "It couldn't equalize pressure in the plane so we have to stay in the normal atmosphere so we could use atmospheric pressure."

(credit: CBS)

"My ears started popping and I thought it was just me, but I guess everyone around was experiencing the same thing," another passenger said.

"There were people who were sick and went off and didn't get back on," passenger Linda Burk said.