Correct, I don't think bhrubin has any idea how quickly this can happen. In any case, I would make the argument that the woman (having gained that much weight) which would mean that she probably had acute on chronic renal failure would be completely unfit to fly to begin with even if she had made it onto the aircraft. For that reason I doubt that airline was properly informed as to her medical condition before even leaving the states, they probably figured it was simple obesity or were informed that her condition was likely to remain stable over the course of her stay. In any case, refusing medical care (which is substantially available) in Budapest was a pretty bloody stupid thing to do, clearly in this case fatally stupid.

Everyone here seems to be so focussed on the woman not being allowed to fly but had I been a fellow passenger on that aircraft I'd be raising concerns with the FAs about OUR safety in evacuating with someone that requires cranes to lift and is totally immobile and is quite literally wider than the door of the aircraft. No doubt they put her in an exit row in coach, she doesn't physically fit between the rows of coach seats. Really the only aircraft that would be equipped to safely move this lady is an air ambulance like previously said.

Hell, she needs a team of doctors and nurses to look after her so hypothetically even if she made it into the air it wouldn't have been safe and totally unreasonable to ask of the airline. If something happened and she started crashing midair, the duty of care would have fallen onto the FAs to intervene which is something they're neither equipped nor trained to do. Is that a fair responsibility to place on KLM or Delta staff? That would be like asking me to perform maintenance on a Boeing and putting people's lives at risk.