Death at 30,000 Feet: Passenger Dies Mid-Air, Body Kept in Heated Galley for 13 Hours

A female passenger in her 60s died shortly after takeoff on a British Airways flight from Hong Kong to London on Sunday, with her body reportedly stored in a rear galley for the remainder of the 13.5-hour journey.

According to Fox News, the woman died approximately one hour after Flight BA32, operated by an Airbus A350-1000, departed Hong Kong.

Despite the incident, the pilots chose to continue the journey to Heathrow Airport rather than divert or return, as a passenger death is typically not classified as a medical emergency.

Crew members initially considered placing the body in a lavatory, but this option was rejected. The body was instead wrapped and moved to a rear galley.

"Obviously, the family with the woman was distraught, and so was the crew. 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,” a source said as quoted by Fox News.

Did the British Airways crew overlook the heated galley floor after the mid-air death?

However, the staff reportedly overlooked that the galley floor was heated. The heat allegedly caused a pungent smell to develop and spread through the back of the cabin as the flight progressed.

As the plane approached London, several of the 331 passengers and crew reported a foul smell coming from that section of the aircraft.

Upon landing, police boarded the aircraft and instructed all passengers to remain seated for approximately 45 minutes while they carried out an investigation.

British Airways said that "all procedures were correctly followed" during the incident. The airline told Fox News Digital, "A customer sadly passed away on board, and our thoughts are with their family and friends at this difficult time. We are supporting our crew, and all procedures were correctly followed."

The International Air Transport Association has guidelines for handling such situations.

The body is typically placed in a body bag or covered with a blanket up to the neck. Efforts are made to move the body to a less conspicuous area such as an empty seat or another section of the aircraft, if feasible.

If the flight is full, the body may be returned to the original seat.

A 2013 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that deaths during flights are rare, with only 0.3 percent of in-flight medical emergencies resulting in death.