On Monday, an unidentified passenger died in midair on a Delta Air Lines trip from Atlanta to Lagos.
According to sources, she died due to a health emergency that occurred midair, approximately three hours before the flight’s scheduled arrival in Lagos.
Although the crew decided to go to Lagos, it was later discovered that a strong thunderstorm in the region compelled the pilots to divert the plane to Lome, Togo.
According to some people familiar with the situation, the flight was delayed further in Lome owing to refuelling and weather. The Delta Air Lines’ A330-200 aeroplane carried 215 passengers.
However, the flight later landed safely in Lagos, approximately eight and a half hour after the scheduled time. The flight was initially scheduled to arrive by 10am on Monday. It was learnt that the passengers received compensation.
Delta Air in a statement apologised for the inconveniences, adding that the airline regretted any difficulty or delays caused to its customers’ travel arrangements during the flight.
The statement read, “Delta flight 54 A
Meanwhile, some passengers and Nigerians made comments on social media about the flight.
@samson_Goddy posted a tweet on X stating that his flight was delayed and that two medical emergencies occurred, including the death of a woman in midair.
He noted that the passengers were forced to make an emergency landing in a different country after the aircraft ran out of fuel.
He wrote, “My Delta flight from Atlanta to Lagos was scheduled to land at 10am, but arrived at 6pm or later.
“So we had two health emergencies: a lady died on the flight midair, we ran out of fuel and were forced to do an emergency landing in another country, and we were grounded for 5+ hours.
Responding to questions on X about the incident he added, “Yes, oh, one woman died like that three hours after we left. I think it was a heart attack, because there was a doctor onboard. But I overheard something similar.”
Reacting to the incident, @BayoAdesosu also stated that the airline should openly address the incident by releasing a statement and displaying its landing records.
TL-LOS has landed safely in LOS after an onboard customer medical situation and subsequent diversion to LFW due to weather. We sincerely apologise to our customers for the inconvenience and delay in their travel plans.”