Airlines stocks tumble on fresh Ebola fears

DALLAS (AP) — News that a health worker diagnosed with Ebola flew on a commercial flight the night before showing symptoms raised fears on Wall Street that the scare over the virus could reduce air travel.

Shares of the biggest U.S. airlines tumbled between 4 percent and 6 percent in afternoon trading today.

Frontier Airlines announced that public-health officials were notifying the 132 passengers on Monday night's Flight 1143 from Cleveland to Dallas-Fort Worth. The airline's crew reports that the woman showed no symptoms during the flight.

Frontier said health officials were seeking to interview passengers and monitor those deemed to be at risk for contracting the virus.

Shares of Republic Airways Holdings, which owns Frontier, sank more than 4 percent.

Since the first case of Ebola diagnosed in the U.S. last month, attention has focused mostly on travelers from West Africa, the center of the epidemic.