A passenger in her 60s died about an hour after British Airways Flight BA32 departed from Hong Kong to London last Sunday, and her body was reportedly stored in a heated galley on the Airbus A350-1000 for more than 13 hours until the plane landed at Heathrow Airport.
Body Storage and Crew Response
According to reports, the crew rejected a request from the flight deck to place the body in a bathroom and instead wrapped the deceased passenger in materials before isolating her in a galley area at the rear of the aircraft, which had a heated floor. Passengers later reported a foul smell coming from the area during the flight.
A source told The Sun that despite some crew members and family wanting to return to Hong Kong immediately, the pilots continued the flight to London, as the death was not classified as an emergency under aviation protocols. The 331 passengers remained seated for about 45 minutes after landing while police investigated the onboard death.
British Airways Statement and Passenger Impact
British Airways confirmed to Fox News Digital that the crew followed all procedures related to the incident. “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.”
The airline has not received formal complaints about the incident, although some passengers reportedly took time off work to recover from the distress caused by the situation.
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