A Swedish woman has received compensation from Kenya Airways after having had to fly from Europe to Tanzania sitting next to a man who had died shortly after take off, according to a report in the Expressen daily.
“Of course it was unpleasant, but I am not a person who makes a fuss,” Lena Pettersson said.
Pettersson works as a reporter for Sveriges Radio (SR), the state broadcaster which first broke the story of her macabre flight to east Africa and that she has now been refunded 5000 kronor ($713), around half the cost of her ticket.
When Pettersson boarded her Dar es Salaam-bound flight at Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport she noticed that her co-passenger wasn’t looking on top form.
“He was sweating and had cramp,” she told SR, adding that while the flight attendants were present, the plane took off all the same.
When the aircraft was airborne staff put out a call for medical help and while the man was subsequently given cardiac massage, he died a few hours later.
With Kenya Airways staff seemingly baffled by the events and their next course of action, Pettersson was obliged to sit only a narrow aisle away from the dead man for the remainder of her overnight flight.
After her holiday, Pettersson decided to seek compensation from the airline, concluding that she had not been entirely satisfied with her flight.
After a couple of months of email communication with Kenya Airways, Pettersson was refunded half the price of her flight.
“This feels much better. It is reasonable,” she said to SR.
