(AP news) - A first-class passenger on a flight from New Delhi
to London awoke to find the corpse of a woman who had died in the
economy cabin being placed in a seat next to him, British Airways
said Monday.
The flight's economy section was full, and the cabin crew needed to
move the woman and her grieving family out of that compartment to
give them some privacy, the airline said.
The first-class passenger, Paul Trinder, told the Sunday Times
newspaper that he was sleeping during a February flight from India
and woke up when the crew placed the dead woman in an empty seat
near him.
"I didn't have a clue what was going on. The stewards just plonked
the body down without saying a thing," the newspaper quoted Trinder
as saying. "I remember looking at this frail, sparrow-like woman
and thinking she was very ill. When I asked what was going on, I
was shocked to hear she was dead."
British Airways said in a statement that about 10 passengers die
each year in flight and that while each situation is dealt with on
an individual basis, safety is paramount.
"The deceased must not be placed in the galley or blocking aisles
or exits, and there should be clear space around the deceased," the
statement said. "The wishes of family or friends traveling with the
deceased will always be considered, and account taken of the
reactions of other passengers."
Because there was space in the first class cabin, that "allowed the
family members traveling with the deceased some level of privacy in
their grief," the airline said.
"We apologize to passengers in the first cabin who were distressed
by the situation our cabin crew were working in difficult
circumstances and chose the option that they believed would cause
the least disruption," the statement said.
David Learmount, a former pilot and cabin crew member who now
writes about the aviation industry for Flight International
magazine, said that each airline has to deal with the relatively
rare situation on an individual basis. He said it would be unusual
to divert the flight, and that the captain would be consulted
before the crew acted.
"Personally, I think they did the thing that was the best thing to
do," he said. "It's an isolated incident. It's not as if it happens
every day, but you do have to take in people's sensibilities when
it does happen."
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Anyone has encountered rare situation on flight? What were the
response, of crews or passengers?
