….EgyptAir says Nigerian Embassy duly notified
BY CHUKWUEMEKE IWELUNMO
A passenger aboard EgyptAir Lagos to London via Cairo, one Ms. Meshioye Toyosi Remilekun who travelled with the airline Monday 4th, September 2023 died on the flight and according to the family of the deceased with no word from the airline.
Information available was that Ms Meshioye, a student flying to the United Kingdom boarded flight MS876, a Boeing 737-800 that will take her from Nigeria to the UK where she connects with MS777 to London Heathrow on a Boeing triple seven, she never made it that far.
According to the girl’s family, she left Nigeria for London on EgyptAir on Monday through Murtala Muhammad International Airport Lagos and unfortunately the lady was said to have died and her corpse, deposited in Cairo, Egypt by the airline.
The family said the airline did not inform them, but rather they got a message from the Consular Office in Cairo informing them of her death aboard the flight.
They are equally apprehensive to know what exactly happened to Ms Meshioye and how to get her corpse back to Nigeria.
According to the elder sister to the deceased who resides in the United Kingdom, Mrs. Olufunmilola Olaniyi-Alabi, she said they reported the matter to the London police after calling EgyptAir for the whereabouts of her sister.
She said, “Myself ( Senior sister to Remilekun) and my husband reside in Leeds, UK later travelled to London (Heathrow) on Wednesday night to get to London on Thursday morning and we demanded to see the Egyptair regional manager in their London office who made some calls on Thursday afternoon in her office to their Cairo office. She later informed us that Remi fell sick in the plane and on landing in Cairo they rushed her to the hospital in town where she later died.
“The effort to obtain more information from her was not quite successful as to how she died. She said the Nigerian Embassy has been informed and they are ones that should have contacted us. She later called the Nigeria Consular (Mr Saliu Agraza).
“I strongly feel that Egyptair should have contacted us as the passenger’s next of kin as against us struggling to get information which as at this time that I am writing , they are yet to provide to us.
“We spoke to the Nigerian Embassy in the person of Mr. Saliu Agraza who responded that Eygptair only informed them on Tuesday that Remi is dead and handed over her body to them but did not have any other information or any contact of her relatives.
“Eygptair further said that only the Nigerian embassy 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 airport to Remilekun and 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 Egyptair 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.”
General Manager EgyptAir Nigeria, Mr. Basha who confirmed the incident did not state further on details of developments regarding death of passenger travelling to London on Egyptair.
According to the message, the passenger’s route was Lagos to London via Cairo on the 4th September, when the passenger arrive Transit Area, she reported that she was sick. Airport Quarantine Department was called to check her and decided that she needed to be hospitalised.
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“The Airport authorities cleared and stamped her into the country and transferred to the hospital. Nigerian Embassy in Cairo was contacted (Mr. Tarek from Public Relations department) and was informed about the case.
“More information and the following procedures to bring the body back will be to be through the Nigerian Embassy in Cairo”, the statement read.
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