An unsettling incident unfolded on an easyJet flight from Málaga, Spain, to Gatwick, as vacationers claim an elderly British woman was brought on board deceased.

The 89-year-old woman was accompanied by five family members who reportedly informed the airline staff that she was unwell and had fallen asleep.

However, as the plane prepared for takeoff, cabin crew were notified that the woman had actually passed away. Consequently, the aircraft was obliged to return to the gate, leading to a 12-hour delay.

According to passengers, the woman was transported in a wheelchair to the back of the plane, where her family members assisted in seating her.

Witnesses allege that the group was allowed to board after telling a boarding clerk, who was concerned about the woman’s condition, that she was merely tired.

One passenger recounted overhearing a family member assure the clerk, “It’s OK, we’re doctors.”

The plane then started taxiing to the end of the runway – but then dramatically stopped moments before take-off when the suspicious cabin crew realised she was dead, witnesses said.

EasyJet today insisted that the concerned passengers were wrong, the passenger had a fit to fly certificate – and was alive when she boarded the plane. 

Passenger Petra Boddington said: ‘easyJet, when did you start letting dead people onto planes? Seriously!

Passenger Petra Boddington (pictured) took to Facebook to claim that the elderly British passenger was ‘clearly not ok’ when she boarded the flight from Malaga to Gatwick 

Elizabeth Rowland and her partner who sat three rows in front of the woman on the plane says her family were talking to her and ‘acting as if she was alive’

Ms Rowland’s partner and other passengers waited in the terminal for their flights to be rescheduled

‘I know it’s not funny because somebody did actually die, but easyJet ground staff actually allowed someone that looked completely dead onto the plane and then funnily enough, just as we were about to take off, they died. 

‘Called back to the terminal, whole flight cancelled, everybody pulled off the plane.

‘They wouldn’t let you on if you were drunk but apparently, it’s OK if you’re dead and you look dead, and she really looked like she was dead, in a chair, being pushed by her family.

‘And apparently the family were questioned by the ground staff and said she was absolutely fine. She was not absolutely fine.

‘Everybody that she went past went like, “Oh my God, she looks dead”, and she was dead. So, easyJet, you should be ashamed of yourselves, your ground staff were appalling today.’

She wrote in the caption that ground staff asked the woman’s family five times if she was alright, to which they insisted she was.

‘To the naked eye, she looked like she was already dead, slumped unconscious in a wheelchair,’ Ms Boddington explained.

‘So why would she be allowed onto the flight and then disrupt everyone’s plans… purely to save the family repatriation?

‘Disgusting and prepare yourselves for the refunds and complaints coming!’ 

Elizabeth Rowland, 19, who lives in Marbella and was flying to England with her partner to visit family, told the Daily Mail she was sat in front of the woman and her two relatives at the gate and only three rows in front of them on the plane itself.

She said from the first moment she saw the woman, who was in a wheelchair and wearing a neck brace, supported by a neck pillow, she knew she ‘wasn’t with us’.

But Ms Rowland said before boarding: ‘Her family were trying to wake her up and saying, “Can you hear me? We’re going to get on the flight now, we’re going to board now”, and trying to give her something to drink…

‘They were talking to her and acting as if she was alive.’

And she explained when the plane turned back to the terminal, and paramedics rushed onboard: ‘None of the family seemed upset or like they were panicking, they weren’t crying or shocked – they were completely calm and talking to the paramedics.’

Passengers were left waiting at the airport after the discovery of the woman

Another passenger, Tracy-Ann Kitching (pictured) claimed that she believed that the woman, 89, was already dead when her family wheeled her onto the the plane

EasyJet said the woman had a fit-to-fly certificate and insist she had been alive when she was pushed onto the flight by five relatives who told cabin crew that she was ‘tired’ and ‘unwell’  

She continued: ‘They showed not one ounce of emotion. They seemed like they were trying to make everything seem normal.’

Emergency workers took the woman into the back of a plane and plugged her into some kind of medical machine, she said, which ‘did not make any sound’ – and Ms Rowland knew the lady was already gone.

While passengers waited in the terminal for their rescheduled departure time, everyone in the airport came to know about the incident by its nickname ‘the famous flight’, letting any passengers who said they were on it quickly move past in any crowded spaces.

And though easyJet, once they eventually reboarded, gave passengers a free hot drink and snack, the food and drinks voucher they gave them while biding their time in the terminal was of an unclear amount, could not be used at every restaurant and did not even cover the cost of Ms Rowland and her partner’s meal.

Another passenger who didn’t want to be named, said: ‘Everyone on the plane thought she looked dead when she arrived – she should never have been passed as fit to fly.’

And another, called Tracy-Ann Kitching, took to social media to express her outrage.

She wrote on Facebook: ‘easyJet – you are unbelievable! Why did you let a dead person on our flight?!

‘Special assistance [the service for boarding passengers with a disability or reduced mobility] are responsible too; they should have raised the issue.’

‘I saw her wheeled onto the plane; someone was holding her head as they went past me! An actual doctor onboard [confirmed] she was already dead when they put her in her seat.’

She went on: ‘However I must show empathy for the poor person who died and the family as well as your cabin and ground crew; what a terrible situation for them.

‘I must also praise the First Officer [co-pilot] who came out and patiently answered our questions. He was professional and personable – thank you.’

She said, of the party who brought the dead woman onboard: ‘I hope the Spanish authorities throw the book at them!’

Ms Kitching continued: ‘We’ve just seen the family looking very sheepish as they b****y should. Should have been removed in handcuffs.’

She went on to explain that the co-pilot told passengers he would write a report on the events of the flight, using their testimonies.

It is not known what happened to the woman’s body after it was removed – or to the family members with her, though they are not believed to have been arrested after the woman’s mortal status was discovered.

The flight had been scheduled to depart from the Spanish holiday destination at 11.15am, landing around two hours later at 1.10pm.

But after the strange incident passengers suffered delays of almost 12 hours, with the flight not finally departing until 10.47pm local time, finally landing at Gatwick at around midnight.

There is ordinarily complex protocol to follow to transport human remains across borders.

They would often be taken on cargo rather than passenger planes and stored in a specialist casket in the hold rather than in the cabin and the death needs to be registered and certified.

One firm which provides repatriation services from Spain to the UK cited the estimated cost of the process as between £3,500 and £4,500.

It is also a complex process, which involves registering and certifying the death abroad, informing UK authorities, arranging repatriation with a British funeral director or cremation or burial abroad, and eventually cancelling the deceased’s passport when back home.

If the death was suspicious, relatives may also potentially have to find a lawyer to appoint and wait for a postmortem or police examination, which can take time.

The travel insurance company the deceased person was registered with also has to be contacted, as firms can often help cover any medical, legal, interpretation or translation costs.

But if the individual did not have insurance, their loved ones will have to independently pay and appoint either a funeral director from the foreign country for a cremation or burial there, or an international funeral director in the UK to bring the person’s body back to Britain.

Other passengers complained that all they had for the long delay was food and drink vouchers.

A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Málaga confirmed officers had been called onto the plane because of an elderly British woman, adding: ‘She was pronounced dead on the aircraft which had been due to leave Málaga for London just after 11am yesterday morning.’

An easyJet spokesman said: ‘Flight EZY8070 from Málaga to London Gatwick returned to stand prior to departure due to a customer onboard requiring urgent medical assistance. The flight was met by emergency services however the customer sadly passed away.

‘Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the customer, and we are offering support and assistance at this difficult time.

‘The wellbeing of our passengers and crew is always easyJet’s highest priority and we would like to thank passengers for their understanding for the delay.’