PASSENGERS at Scotland's busiest airport appeared confused yesterday after Virgin and BA moved to stop people from travelling who show symptoms of swine flu.

If they are showing classic flu symptoms such as coughs, runny noses, and aching muscles, the passengers must carry a "fit to fly" certificate from their doctor in order to be allowed on the plane.

As holidaymakers at Glasgow Airport prepared to take off for warmer climes, some described it as a worthwhile measure to limit the spread of the H1N1 infection that is sweeping the world. However, other people described it as "scaremongering."

Teacher Marie Wegelin, 52, who lives in Switzerland, but is originally from Bearsden in Glasgow, said: "The media attention the swine flu situation receives in Britain is ridiculous. I say stop the scaremongering and start teaching people basic hygiene."

Advertising executive Alan Donaldson, 42, who is also from Bearsden, but who lives in Sydney, where Virgin and BA fly to and from the UK, said: "It's obviously expensive for me to travel back home. I would be annoyed if they didn't let me board a flight just because I was coughing.

"However, I would also hate to think that I was sitting next to someone all the way to Sydney who had the virus. So it's a Catch-22 situation."

Management consultant Ross Tuffee, 42, from Perth, is certain that the latest news is just the beginning of heightened restrictions on travel as the virus spreads.

He said: "It will inevitably get to the point where the virus is so widespread that these types of restrictions will be necessary. This is the impression I get, although sometimes it's hard to tell how much is just media hype."

Other families with young children, who are among the most vulnerable should they suffer from the virus, are unsure of what steps they should be taking before setting out to the airport.

Civil servant Sharon Collins, 41, from Summerston, Glasgow, said: "My daughter has a cold just now but we know it isn't swine flu. It does make us much more paranoid when travelling because the guidelines are a bit haphazard and we don't know what to do one way or another."