© AFP /Faisal al-TamimiA US Airways plane makes an emergency landing in Rome after two passengers and 11 members of the crew are taken ill, Italian media report.
The plane, which set off from Tel Aviv in Israel for Philadelphia in the United States, landed at the Fiumicino airport in the Italian capital and requested medical assistance for 13 people suffering from red eyes and vomiting.
The passengers and crew affected were checked by airport emergency doctors before being taken to the G.B Grassi di Ostia hospital near Rome.
A malfunction in the Airbus A330's ventilation system could be to blame, the reports said.
Source: Agence France-Presse
If I understand correctly, the incoming air is warmed by the plane engines - so it there's even a small leak somewhere, engine fumes can (and do) get into the cabin. This happens from time to time.
The best protection I've been able to come up with is to carry a carbon filter mask when I fly. The carbon will adsorb some, hopefully most, of the hydrocarbon fumes and prevent the worst of the poisoning.
Even a simple disposable painter's mask that has the carbon lining should work well enough to protect your lungs.