A Nigerian student travelling from Lagos to London, the United Kingdom, aboard Egypt Air has been confirmed dead.
It was gathered that the student, Meshioye Remilekun Toyosi, who departed the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Monday, September 4, 2023, fell sick mid-flight and died in the hospital in Cairo, Egypt.
Speaking on the incident, Meshioye’s elder sister, Olufunmilola 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.
Olaniyi-Alabi, who said the family of the deceased has been making several attempts to repatriate the student’s remains to Nigeria, alleged that when the phone was picked up at some point, it was quickly disconnected.
The deceased sister 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.
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“Efforts made to obtain more information from her as to how she died were 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 (Mr Saliu Agraza).
“I strongly feel that Egypt Air should have contacted us as the passenger’s next of kin as against us struggling to get information, which as of this time that I am writing, they are yet to provide to us.”
Olaniyi-Alabi disclosed that the family spoke to Saliu Agraza who she said responded that Eygpt Air only informed them on Tuesday that the student had died and handed over her remains to the Nigerian Embassy.
She added: “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 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.”
Confirming the incident, the General Manager of EgyptAir in Nigeria, Mr Basha, said the student’s route was Lagos to London via Cairo but that when the passenger arrived at the transit area, she reported sick and the airport quarantine department was called to check her and decided that she needed to be hospitalised.
Basha, in a statement, added: “The airport authorities cleared and stamped her into the country and transferred her to the hospital. The Nigerian Embassy in Cairo was contacted and was informed about the case.
“More information and the following procedures to bring the body back need to be through the Nigerian Embassy in Cairo.”
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority has yet to speak on the incident as of the time of filing this report.
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