Can have a dead passenger on your next flight – is much more common than you think

Assuming you ride a plane more than a few times a year – chances are good that you have flown the sky friendly with a dead body for society.

With the spooky scenario making titles more than once in 2025-more recently after a couple flew to Qatar Airway abnormally calm Sedilian shock.

And while it is not uncommon for people to reach their latest destination in front of the plane lands, experts say out of the 50,000 bodies that are said to be transported by plane per year, most are riding quietly and safely in keeping of cargo.

Despite the fact that each case receives a large media coverage, “death on board a commercial plane is actually quite rare”, a medical professional who speaks on behalf of the Medivac Service Global Rescue for Conde Nast Traveler.

According to a 2021 study published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, there were 18.2 medical emergencies from millions of passengers flown in a given year – and a mortality rate of only 0.21 per million, the article quoted.

And even from that degree of mortality, some of the deaths are not completely unexpected, a representative for another service of medical support, Medaire, previously told a glossy title reporter.

For example, it is not unheard of that patients with the latest illness will last a last time as a dying desire, which airlines report to allow despite risks.

“If you do not accommodate the passenger, they would not have their last wish,” Dr. Said Paulo Alves. “So airlines can get into a compliance with the family, agree in advance that the flight will not deviate. Sometimes the person carries an official [Do Not Recusitate] Certificate, too. “

And the flight crews are supposed to be prepared for the worst – getting training to handle the situation with maximum sensitivity.

“We want to be as respectful as possible if this [death on board] Indeed happy, ”said flight doctor Brieana Young in a 2021 interview.

“They have entered their place especially to make sure they are ensured that they are secured on the plane, but what is interesting with this is when the plane makes land, it is considered a crime scene.

“So the police come and appreciate all the planes and passengers. So if this [death on board] Sometimes it happens on your flight, wait to be there for a while after you land, ”Young said.

Most often, the bodies are transported with very careful prior planning and observance of the guidelines set by the regulators for repatriation of human waste, which are treated as much as other loads – with fully protocol to follow and the documents to be made.

But if the unexpected happens on a future flight, here’s what you can usually expect, according to the procedure described by the International Air Travel Association (IATA).

First, the crew should try to relocate the deceased somewhere far away from other vigors.

If the flight is complete, they can be moved to another area of ​​the plane that does not prevent any emergency exit routes.

The crew is also instructed to “take extra care when moving the person and being the difficulty of the situation for friends and viewers”, promoted the organization.

And sometimes, the situation is more than can treat viewers.

In 2023, a “traumatized” passenger British Airways went viral to a social media later deleted after expressing their anger to witness a death in the cabin-their desire to return their flight.

The traveler “angry” said she and her family were left “extremely sad” by the episode, experiencing “many sleepless nights”.