Expert reveals what occurs when somebody dies on a airplane

There are lots of curious questions that come to mind on board a flight.

How do they heat up the food? Where do the cabin crew sleep? And where do pets go?

But perhaps the most uncomfortable question of them all is ‘what happens if someone dies?’

Flight attendants must expect the unexpected and be prepared for all on-board eventualities – including death.  

It comes as Ben Vos, who has spent 35 years working at an airport mortuary, explained what happens in this situation.

Working at the dedicated mortuary at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Vos manages post-mortem care for travellers who pass away abroad or onboard a flight.

Along with a representative who handles border control and a coroner, Vos will enter the plane after passengers have disembarked after landing.

The deceased passenger will be placed into a body bag and removed from the aircraft through a rear emergency exit behind the wings and transported to the mortuary without other passengers noticing.

There are lots of curious questions that come to mind on board a flight. But perhaps the most uncomfortable question of them all is ‘what happens if someone dies?’

This ensures that the deceased, as well as their loved ones who they may have been travelling with, are given respect and privacy

While it’s not uncommon for airports to have morgues or cold storage capabilities on-site, full-service facilities dedicated to death care are much rarer. 

MOS, as the mortuary is known, became the first such offering when it began operations in 1997 at Schiphol, now Europe’s second-busiest airport.  

Previously, Singapore Airlines installed discreet lockers, dubbed ‘corpse cupboards,’ on some of its Airbus A340-500 aircraft in the early 2000s for long-haul flights, to respectfully store a deceased passenger if no seats were available. 

Vos and his team work with doctors, airline and airport staff, medical examiners and government agencies to organise death certificates and customs declarations.

The mortuary at Schipol Airport can receive deceased travellers in transit from other countries and prepare the remains of others for flights out of the Netherlands, and they have coffins on hand for transporting deceased passengers.

This process is known as repatriation of mortal remains (RMR) and passengers should double-check that their travel insurance company covers the cost. It may come under the wider benefit of medical transport.

This also means you should be honest about any medical conditions you may have or have had in the past when buying travel insurance.

MOS, as the mortuary is known, became the first such offering when it began operations in 1997 at Schiphol, now Europe’s second-busiest airport

A former flight attendant previously revealed that dealing with an in-flight death is ‘very stressful’ and can be ‘traumatic’ for everyone involved.

Jay Robert told HuffPost: ‘A death on board at 35,000 feet is one of the most feared situations for flight attendants, often because it follows a medical emergency, which is already very stressful to manage.’

He added: ‘When a medical emergency results in death, it can be a very traumatic experience for everyone on board, especially if the passenger is young.’

It comes as earlier this month, passengers on the flight on which a British grandmother was found dead claimed the elderly woman’s carers propped up her head to allegedly try to conceal her passing. 

EasyJet rejects the narrative put forward by some of the concerned passengers that the woman was deceased when brought on board.