Egypt Air has reported that upon her arrival at the transit area, Remilekun Meshioye, a Nigerian student, informed them of feeling unwell.
Meshioye had boarded the aircraft at the Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Lagos on Monday with the intention of reaching London. Regrettably, she became ill during the flight and was subsequently declared deceased upon arrival at a hospital in Cairo, Egypt.
Despite this tragic situation, Meshioye’s family has alleged that her body was mishandled in Cairo, and they assert that the airline failed to promptly notify her next of kin about her passing.
Olufunmilola Olaniyi-Alabi, elder sister of the deceased who spoke on behalf of the family in a statement, said Meshioye left Lagos for the UK on Monday at 2pm via Egypt Air and died between her transit from Lagos to Cairo.
Mrs Olaniyi-Alabi said the family tried to call the airline’s customer care and all other contact phone details on their website but got no response on Wednesday.
She said, “It was only once that a man picked up the call that we put through to the Egypt Air Region Office in London, and he said the London office is not aware of what happened and they don’t have information to share with us.
“We then contacted the agent who sold the ticket to her and the agent sent us proof that she did not board the plane going to Heathrow from Cairo. It was at this point that we intensified our efforts as regards trying to get in touch with Egypt Air.
“The regional manager in their London office made some calls on Thursday afternoon from her office to their Cairo office. She later informed us that Remi fell sick on the plane and on landing in Cairo, they rushed her to the hospital in town where she later died.
“Efforts made to obtain more information from her as to how she died was not successful, She said the Nigeria embassy had been informed and they were the ones that should have contacted us. She later called the Nigeria consular (Saliu Agraza).”
Speaking further, she said, “We spoke to the Nigerian Embassy in the person of Mr. Saliu Agraza who responded that Eygpt Air only informed them on Tuesday that Remi had died and handed over her body to them, but did not have any other information or any contact of her relatives.
“Eygpt Air further said only the Nigerian Ambassador in the person of Mr. Saliu as a Nigerian Consular will be able to write and demand for what happened on the plane and at the airport to Remilekun, and to request for all her belongs and documents that they have in their possession, including the CCTV footage in the plane and at the airport.
“I am of the opinion that Egypt Air is hiding some truth as to what happened to her in the plane and on landing at the airport on Monday night. They don’t want to take responsibility for what happened to Remi.
“As a family of Remilekun, we are demanding for her body to be returned back to Nigeria by Egypt Air at their own expense and they should return all her luggage to Lagos, where she boarded the plane on Monday, 4th of September.”
But the airline in a statement said the deceased reported sick when she arrived at the transit area and the airport quarantine department was called to check her.
The airline said that after the check, she was recommended to be hospitalised before she died.
The statement by the airline said, “The Airport authorities cleared and stamped her into the country and transferred to hospital.
“Nigerian embassy in Cairo was contacted (Mr Tarek from public relations department) and was informed about the case.”
