Last month, in a real life Weekend at Bernie’s at the airport, a family was accused of wheeling their dead grandmother onto a London flight, telling airline staff that she was “tired.”
Now we learn that an 80-year old man wheeled his deceased wife through the airport in a wheelchair at Tenerife South Airport in Spain. This happened back on October 24th, but it’s only just now being widely reported.
- Staff at the security checkpoint noticed that the 75-year old woman wasn’t responding, and that she seemed to have an abnormally low body temperature.
- Airport medical assistance was summoned, the woman was confirmed dead, and authorities activated the “protocolo de hallazgo de un cadáver” (protocol for discovery of a body). She died from natural causes.
- The husband was questioned, and later released. Contra much of the current reporting, it appears he was never ‘arrested’ or charged.
In at least one account, the husband initially told police that she had died hours earlier inside the airport, and some staff claim he tried to blame the airport.
Considering the cost of repatriation for a body, seems like a solid choice.
I’d want my family to do the same. My standing order has always been, dispose of me whenever I drop. Hopefully somewhere I loved. If not, oh well. That’s life. And death. And travel.