The incident of transporting a deceased British woman on an EasyJet flight caused a great stir among passengers and the Spanish authorities, where passengers accused the woman's family, who was 89 years old, of hiding her death to transport her from Malaga to London.
Passenger testimonies reveal shocking details
Five family members pushed the elderly woman's wheelchair toward the plane and told the boarding crew that she was just feeling tired and exhausted.
According to the "Daily Mail", passenger Petra Boddington noticed the woman from the first moment and confirmed on her social media accounts that the woman indeed appeared to be deceased, as she was noticeably slumped in her wheelchair.
Another passenger, 19-year-old Elizabeth Rowland, who was sitting only three rows from the woman, confirmed that the family members were talking to the deceased and acting as if she was alive, trying to wake her up and give her something to drink.
The plane stops before takeoff
The plane began moving towards the runway for takeoff, but the cabin crew suspected the woman's condition and requested a medical examination.
The plane stopped moments before takeoff, and the medical examination indeed confirmed the passenger's death. The plane then returned to the terminal, and all passengers were disembarked, while the flight scheduled for 11:15 AM was delayed until 10:47 PM, a total of about 12 hours.
Airline's stance
EasyJet insisted that the woman was alive when she boarded the plane and that she had a medical certificate confirming her fitness to travel.
The airline's spokesperson stated that the passenger only required urgent medical help after boarding, and she died on the plane unexpectedly.
The Civil Guard in Malaga reported that its officers were called to the plane due to the condition of an elderly British woman, whose death was officially declared on board the plane. The family members accompanying the deceased have not been arrested so far, and the investigations to uncover the circumstances of the incident are still ongoing.
Passengers' anger at handling the crisis
Passengers expressed their severe dissatisfaction with how the company handled the situation, especially since the food and drink vouchers provided during the long wait were not sufficient.
Passenger Tracy Ann Kitching described the scene as completely shocking, confirming that she saw someone holding the woman's head while pushing the wheelchair.
The process of transferring bodies across borders involves complex procedures and costs between 3500 to 4500 British pounds, including registering the death, obtaining official certificates, and transporting the body in cargo planes with special coffins, not on regular passenger planes.
