Family of deceased Nigerian passenger demands answers from Egypt Air, repatriation of daughter’s body
Family of deceased Nigerian passenger demands answers from Egypt Air, repatriation of daughter’s body
The family of Remilekun Toyosi Meshioye, a woman who boarded an Egypt Air flight from Murtala Muhammad International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos to London on Monday, is demanding the return of their daughter’s body from the airline.
Tragically, Remilekun passed away during the flight, and her remains were deposited in Cairo, Egypt, by the airline.
The family issued a statement expressing their frustration with the airline, claiming that they were not informed of her death. Instead, they received a message from the consular office in Cairo notifying them of their daughter’s passing during the flight.
The family is now seeking answers regarding the circumstances of her death and how to repatriate her body to Nigeria.
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Olufunmilola Olaniyi-Alabi, Remilekun’s elder sister, spoke on behalf of the family and provided some details: “Remilekun Toyosi Meshioye left Lagos for the UK on Monday at 14:00 via Egypt Air but tragically died during her transit from Lagos to Cairo, according to the limited information we received.”
Olaniyi-Alabi explained that they attempted to contact Egypt Air’s customer care and other provided contact numbers on the airline’s website, but received no response throughout Wednesday. When they did manage to get someone on the line, the call was quickly disconnected.
She continued, “We contacted the Egypt Air Regional Office in London, and they claimed to have no knowledge of the incident and no information to share with us.”
Frustrated by the lack of information, the family reported the situation to the UK Police Department, who confirmed that Remilekun was not in the UK. They advised the family to contact either Cairo or Lagos airports. The ticket agent also provided proof that she did not board the flight to Heathrow from Cairo.
It was at this point that the family intensified their efforts to contact Egypt Air. Olaniyi-Alabi and her husband, who reside in Leeds, UK, travelled to London (Heathrow) on Wednesday night, demanding to meet with the Egypt Air regional manager in their London office.
The manager made some calls on Thursday afternoon to their Cairo office and informed them that Remilekun fell ill during the flight and was rushed to a hospital in Cairo, where she later passed away. However, details about the circumstances of her death remained unclear.
The family believed that Egypt Air should have contacted them as the next of kin instead of them struggling to obtain information, which they were still waiting for.
They spoke to the Nigerian Embassy, represented by Saliu Agraza, who stated that Egypt Air had only informed them of Remilekun’s death on Tuesday and handed over her body but provided no further information or contact details for her relatives.
According to Egypt Air, only the Nigerian Embassy, through Saliu Agraza as a Nigerian Consular, could formally request information about what happened on the plane and at the airport, as well as request all of Remilekun’s belongings and documents, including CCTV footage from the plane and the airport.
Olaniyi-Alabi voiced her suspicions that Egypt Air might be withholding information about what happened to her sister and refusing to take responsibility for the incident.
As a result, the family demanded that Egypt Air bear the cost of returning Remilekun’s body to Nigeria and return all her belongings to Lagos, where she boarded the flight on Monday, September 4th.