BA passengers fly for 13 hours with a dead body on board

The body of a passenger who died aboard a British Airways flight was stored in a heated galley for more than 13 hours.

The woman, in her 60s, died within an hour of the British Airways flight leaving Hong Kong on Sunday.

But instead of turning back, pilots pressed on towards London Heathrow.

A source said: ‘Many wanted to return to Hong Kong. But, to put it bluntly, if a passenger has already died, that is not viewed as an emergency.’

They added that ‘towards the end of the flight there were claims that a foul smell was present in that region’.

The source told The Sun that cabin crew members were ‘distraught’.

After the decision was made to carry on with the journey, discussions were had over what to do with the woman’s body.

They said they eventually agreed to isolate it, wrap it in materials and move it to a galley at the back of the plane.

But some apparently ‘overlooked’ the fact the galley had a heated floor, they said, and by the end of the flight some passengers complained of a bad smell in that part of the plane.

Police were waiting on the tarmac at Heathrow for the Airbus A350-1000 to touch down.

The more than 300 passengers were asked to stay in their seats for 45 minutes while investigations took place.

British Airways praised the crew, saying there is no single protocol for dealing with a deceased passenger mid-flight.

All crew have also been offered support, a source said.

A BA spokesperson told Metro: ‘A customer sadly passed away on board and our thoughts are with their family and friends at this difficult time. 

‘We are supporting our crew and all procedures were correctly followed.’

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Comments Add as preferred source