A British family wheeled a dead elderly passenger onto an easyJet flight under the pretence that she was asleep, holidaymakers have claimed.
A gaggle of 5 relatives were seen helping their 89-year-old grandmother board the flight from Spain to Gatwick Airport, but witnesses say they overheard the family telling staff she was merely unwell and had fallen asleep.
The plane was turned around before leaving the runway after the cabin crew were alerted that the lady had died, and the flight was delayed by 12 hours.
EasyJet said the claims were unfounded and explained that the lady had a fit-to-fly certificate and was alive before boarding the flight.
Concerned passengers said a clerk asked concerning the woman’s health before the family tried to board, but they insisted she was ‘just drained’.
The plane began taxiing to the runway, but abruptly stopped just before take-off when suspicious cabin crew realised she was dead, witnesses claimed.
Several passengers shared their response on social media, wherein they claimed to have seen the deceased woman.
Passenger Petra Boddington claimed she saw the lady ‘slumped unconscious in a wheelchair’ in a video she shared on Facebook explaining what she witnessed.
‘EasyJet, when did you begin letting dead people onto planes?’ she said within the video, which has greater than 58,000 views.
‘EasyJet ground staff actually allowed someone who looked completely dead onto the plane after which, funnily enough, just as we were about to take off, they died.’
She added that the corporate would typically deny people from flying ‘should you were drunk, but apparently it’s okay should you’re dead and also you look dead’.
She claims hearing the family tell ground staff that their relative was ‘absolutely tremendous’
‘She was not absolutely tremendous,’ Petra said.
‘So, easyjet, you need to be ashamed of yourselves. Your ground staff were awful today.’
One other passenger, Tracy-Ann Kitching, expressed her anger at easyJet’s handling of the situation.
In a Facebook post, she wrote: ‘easyJet – you’re unbelievable! Why did you let a dead person on our flight?
‘Special assistance [the service for boarding passengers with a disability or reduced mobility] are responsible too; they need to have raised the difficulty.’
She claimed that the family brushed past her as she saw the lady get ‘wheeled into the plane’ while someone held her head.
Tracy shared her sympathies for the family and praised the airline staff for reassuring concerned passengers.
She said their testimonies can be used to assist the co-pilot write a report on the events of the flight.
It stays unknown what happened to the lady or her relations after her body was faraway from the plane.
Though it’s believed no arrests were made.
The flight was scheduled to depart Malaga at 11.15am on Friday and was expected to land at 1.10pm.
Nevertheless, passengers were forced to attend nearly 12 hours because the flight didn’t depart until 10.47pm local time before landing at Gatwick at midnight.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Malaga confirmed officers were called onto the plane due to the elderly British woman.
They said: ‘She was pronounced dead on the aircraft which had been as a result of leave Malaga for London just after 11am yesterday morning.
‘She was permitted to fly because she had a medical ‘fit to fly’ certificate and was being supported by medical personnel during her journey.’
A spokesperson for easyJet said: ‘Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the shopper who sadly passed away, and we’re offering support and assistance at this difficult time.
‘She was permitted to fly because she had a medical “fit to fly” certificate and was being supported by medical personnel during her journey.
‘It was only after boarding the shopper then required medical assistance and he or she sadly passed away.
‘The wellbeing of our passengers and crew is at all times easyJet’s highest priority and we’d ask customers for his or her understanding in these circumstances.’
Get in contact with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
MORE: ‘Easygoing’ European city’s first ever flights from UK airport are about to take off
MORE: Spain launches unlimited travel pass for just £1.70 per day
MORE: Spanish ‘mini Maldives’ gets recent flight from UK airport starting tomorrow