The family of a Nigerian lady, Remilekun Toyosi Meshioye, a passenger who died aboard Egypt Air flight MS 876, on Monday, while on a connecting flight into Heathrow Airport in the United Kingdom, has slammed the airline and the Egyptian authorities for the disrespectful manner Toyosi was treated after her untimely death.
The family, however, called on the federal government of Nigeria to investigate the circumstances leading to her death while in custody of Egypt Air.
The late Nigerian, whose UK visa indicated that she has a student work permit, was to connect London Heathrow via Cairo, on Tuesday, September 5th, aboard Egypt Air flight MS 777, after passing the night in the country upon arrival, on Monday, September 4. However, she did not arrive her destination after the airline deposited her corpse in a morgue in Cairo.
Toyosi’s family having being surprised at the attitude of the airline for not informing them of the death of their loved one for days after her demise only for them to receive information from the Egyptian Consular office, in Cairo, informing them of the passing away of their daughter whom they presumed had arrived the United Kingdom.
The 43-year-old Nigerian’s travel itinerary seen by our correspondent showed that she travelled aboard a Boeing 737-800 on the first leg of the journey to Cairo while a Boeing 777-300 was to convey her and others to London from the Egyptian capital city.
A relative of Toyosi, based in Leeds, UK, Mrs Olufunmilola Olaniyi-Alabi, who spoke via WhatsApp call in Lagos, expressed shock at the inability of the airline to contact the family of a passenger who duly chose to patronise the airline and joyfully decided to travel with them to her destination with the belief that she will receive the best treatment.
“We called Egypt Air customer care and all other contact phone details on their website but no response all through Wednesday and when the phone was picked they quickly cut it. It was only once that a man picked the call that we put through to Egypt Air Regional 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.
“So, we were left with no choice but to report to the UK Police Department, on Wednesday, and they later confirmed to us that our sister was not in the UK they advised us to contact Cairo or Lagos airports. We 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,” she stated.
According to her, the family was yet to come to terms with the news of the death of their daughter saying, “thank you for contacting us. We are shocked and greatly displeased with the attitude of Egypt Air. The Nigerian government must not allow a citizen of our country be treated this way by any nation and be allowed to go like that. We demand justice and investigation from the Nigeria authorities.”
But a statement from Egypt Air on the incident stated that the deceased reported sick when she arrived at the transit area while the airport quarantine department was called to check her.
After the check, she was recommended to be hospitalized before she later passed away.
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.”
The airline, however, said the procedure to evacuate the body back home would be provided by the Nigerian embassy in Cairo.
