Greg45

First, I would like to express my sincere sympathies for the loved ones of all those passengers who have passed away onboard a flight. It is hard to imagine how hard it must be to learn at the airport that the person you were expecting did not survive the flight. Especially painful for those who witness the death of a loved one on the plane and have to deal with this difficult situation inflight, away from home, without the support of the family and trapped onboard.

It is unlikely that the persons accompanying the passenger who passed away on a recent BA flight from Cape Town to London is reading this, but I do feel with them and wanted to express my condolences.

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The above raises the question – and I hope we can discuss this without being disrespectful – how crews deal (or should deal) with medical emergencies and deaths inflight. In this case, a medical doctor onboard must have treated the patient and have declared the death about two hours into the flight. This left the persons accompanying the passenger and those crew and passengers who witnessed the incident trapped on the plane for another 9 hours! And although obviously less traumatic, it might have been difficult for those who were seated close to the body wrapped in blankets and moved into a flat first class seat. I have to admit that sitting 4 rows away did affect me somewhat and the strain could clearly be felt in this part of the cabin.

It probably happens occasionally and the crews are trained for such incidents. Even though the crew acted very professionally, the stress was clearly visible. The fact that food and drinks service had to continue on the long flight did not make it any easier. Overall a very difficult situation and I do not know the details, but it wonder if leaving the deceased in a seat and continuing the flight was the right decision.