HORRIFIED holidaymakers have claimed that a British family wheeled a dead body onto an easyJet flight from Spain to Gatwick, under the pretence she was asleep.
The 89-year-old was carried on board the plane by five of her relatives who, witnesses say, told airline staff she was just unwell.
But before take off, cabin crew discovered the woman had passed away.
The plane was turned around before it left the runway and the flight was delayed by 12 hours.
According to passengers, a clerk questioned the woman’s health as the group tried to board but the family said she was “just tired”.
It was only when the plane had begun taxiing to the runway that suspicious cabin crew realised she was dead, passengers said.
EasyJet insists the allegations are unfounded.
The company said the passenger had a fit to fly certificate and was alive when she boarded the plane.
In a post on Tik Tok, passenger Petra Boddington said: “EasyJet, when did you start letting dead people on planes.
“EasyJet allowed someone who looked completely dead onto the plane and then funnily enough just as we were about to take off they died.
“We got pulled back to the terminal, whole flight cancelled, everybody pulled off the plane.
“They wouldn’t let you on if you were drunk but apparently it’s okay if you’re dead and you look dead.
“She really looked dead, in a chair being wheeled by her family and apparently her family said she was absolutely fine.
“She was not absolutely fine. Everybody that she went past went ‘oh my god she looks dead’.
“So easyJet you should be ashamed of yourself.”
Another passenger, Tracy-Ann Kitching, took to social media to express her outrage.
She wrote on Facebook: “easyJet – you are unbelievable! Why did you let a dead person on our flight?!
“Special assistance [the service for boarding passengers with a disability or reduced mobility] are responsible too; they should have raised the issue.’
“I saw her wheeled onto the plane; someone was holding her head as they went past me!”
But she conceded she “must show empathy” for the woman who died, her family and the cabin and ground crew.
She said: “What a terrible situation for them.
“I must also praise the First Officer [co-pilot] who came out and patiently answered our questions. He was professional and personable – thank you.”
But, of the family who brought the woman onboard she added: “I hope the Spanish authorities throw the book at them!”
The co-pilot told passengers he would write a report on the events of the flight using their testimonies, she said.
It is not known what happened to the woman’s body after it was taken off the plane – or to the family members.
They are not believed to have been arrested.
The flight had been scheduled to depart from the Spanish holiday destination at 11.15am, landing around two hours later at 1.10pm.
But after being delayed for almost 12 hours, the flight did not depart until 10.47pm local time, finally landing at Gatwick at around midnight.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Malaga confirmed officers had been called onto the plane because of an elderly British woman.
They said: “She was pronounced dead on the aircraft which had been due to leave Malaga for London just after 11am yesterday morning.”
“Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the customer who sadly passed away and we are offering support and assistance at this difficult time.
“She was permitted to fly because she had a medical ‘fit to fly’ certificate and was being supported by medical personal during her journey.
“It was only after boarding that the customer then required medical assistance and she sadly passed away.
“The wellbeing of our passengers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority and we would ask customers for their understanding in these circumstances.”