BULAWAYO – A passenger on an Airlink flight from Johannesburg to Bulawayo died mid-air on Monday.
The unidentified female passenger is thought to have died in the final few minutes of the one-hour flight between South Africa’s commercial capital and Zimbabwe’ second city, according to airport officials.
Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport manager Passmore Dewa told ZimLive that health services were called to supervise the removal of the body in compliance with Covid-19 protocols.
“I confirm that we had an unfortunate incident where a female passenger died mid-air, which was confirmed once the plane landed. We will get reports from the airline, law enforcement and also health authorities into the incident which will answer questions over how the passenger died,” Dewa said.
The passenger had a test certificate taken 48 hours before travelling showing that they were Covid-19 free as required by Zimbabwean virus regulations, Dewa said.
In a statement to ZimLive, Airlink said: “Airlink sadly confirms that a customer passed away while onboard flight 4Z110 from Johannesburg to Bulawayo today. We extend our heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the customer’s loved ones.”
Flight 4Z110 landed on schedule at Joshua Mqabuko just before midday, and had been due to turn back to Johannesburg at 12.35PM. It did not take off, however, until 1.54PM as health authorities took time to remove the body and carry out cabin disinfection procedures on the Embraer E170LR.
(This story was edited to change the sex of the passenger from male to female after further verification)
