A passenger died on a London-bound South African Airways (SAA) flight on Tuesday night, forcing the aircraft to return to Johannesburg, the company said on Wednesday.
SAA said flight SA238 left Johannesburg International airport at 8.30pm on Tuesday but returned two hours later due to the woman’s death.
”It made sense to return to Johannesburg as the aircraft was two hours from base but if they had been halfway through their flight the decision to return or continue the flight would be made by the captain,” said SAA spokesperson Rich Mkhondo.
He said the cause of the passenger’s death was not known.
”If someone dies on a flight our cabin attendants will put the person in a body bag and then take it to a private place on the plane,” said Mkhondo.
SAA said the flight was rescheduled and was expected to arrive in London at 10.30am on Wednesday. — Sapa