Note: MERS involves both respiratory difficulties as well as gastric distress (vomit & diarrhea). There are certain cultures that either are not familiar with Western toilets, or manage to enforce dhimmitude to accomodate their preferences.
Over the last decade or so of reading of the cultural impact to Western nations,. . .toileting habits/preferences is just one of the unsavory & disturbing issues.
There are prior reports about the condition of local toilets because certain cultures would wash their feet in public restroom sinks . . .as well as stand on the toilet seat to squat to defecate/urinate.
Now consider the impact MERS adds to this mess.
Recall the second patient spent 4-8 hours in the hospital waiting area. As a health care worker, MERS was not suspected for the first 4 hours. MERS symptoms would have made it necessary to be near a public restroom while he was waiting -- how many MERS victims will be sharing public restrooms prior to diagnosis and medical isolation?
Every time restrooms are mentioned, I think of the worst one I was ever in. I have traveled to many countries, including Hong Kong and mainland China, but the worst airport restroom is in Athens, Greece. There were flies on the potty. It took some gyrations not to sit on that potty.
I think the most likely place you could contact a disease when flying, besides sitting by someone and/or breathing the recirculating air, is the airport restroom. When people get off a plane, they head for the first bathroom. Whatever bacteria/virus they leave there on anything they touch, including the door into the bathroom, the next person comes in contact with it and the next one and the next one, etc..