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Air travelers are reacting with shock after a dead passenger’s body was reportedly stored in a heated galley for more than 13 hours on a long-haul flight, according to reports.
A woman in her 60s died about an hour after takeoff on British Airways Flight BA32 from Hong Kong to London last Sunday, but the pilots continued on to Heathrow Airport instead of turning back, The Sun reported.
A source told the outlet that the Airbus A350-1000’s galley had a heated floor, and by the end of the flight “there were claims that a foul smell was present” in that area.
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A British Airways Airbus A391-131 comes in to land at Heathrow Airport in west London on April 29, 2024. (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
“Obviously, the family with the woman were distraught, and so were the crew,” the 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.”
British Airways told Digital that its crew followed all procedures.
“A customer sadly passed away on board and our thoughts are with their family and friends at this difficult time,” the airline said. “We are supporting our crew and all procedures were correctly followed.”
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Travelers walk through a terminal at Heathrow Airport. (Roslan Rahman/AFP via Getty Images)
A source told The Sun that a discussion took place about what to do with the body, with the crew rejecting a request from the flight deck to lock it in the plane’s bathroom.
“So they had to isolate the body, wrap it in materials, and move it to a galley at the rear of the plane,” the source said, adding that the area had a heated floor.
British Airways Boeing 777 taxiing for take off, surrounded by other planes on the runway. (iStock)
The outlet said that once the plane landed last Sunday, police asked the 331 passengers on board to stay in their seats for roughly 45 minutes while they investigated the onboard death.
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British Airways did not receive a formal complaint regarding the incident, but The Sun reported that some passengers took time off work to recover from the ordeal.
