Woman dies mid-air on 17-hour-long Qantas flight as police called to 'sudden death'

A woman sadly died during a long-haul Qantas flight, the airline has confirmed. Emergency services were called to attend the “sudden death” after the plane landed in New Zealand from New York.

On Tuesday, investigations into the woman’s death were being carried out on behalf of the coroner. A spokesperson for Qantas has since confirmed the tragic death on the long-haul flight. “Urgent assistance was provided by crew and doctors onboard but sadly they passed away,” the spokesperson said.

“In line with standard procedure, emergency services met the aircraft as part of the response”, the statement added.

The spokesperson also offered the airline’s condolences to the woman’s friends and family.

It was only under a month ago that a British Airways passenger died while flying the 14-hour flight from Hong Kong to London.

A woman in her 60s died an hour after take off on March 15. A British Airways spokesman said: “A customer sadly passed away on board and our thoughts are with their family and friends at this difficult time. We are supporting our crew and all procedures were correctly followed.”

Deaths on flights are very rare, according to a study published by the New England Journal of Medicine in 2013, cited by the BBC.

Most airlines follow guidance from the International Air Transport Association on procedures to follow if a passenger dies during a flight.

The guidance states when a passenger is presumed to have died, their eyes should be closed and their body placed in a body bag, if one is available.

If no body bag is available, the body should be covered with a blanket up to the neck. It should also be moved, if possible, to a seat or area away from other passengers.