The heartbreaking details have emerged regarding the untimely death of Remilekun Toyosi Meshioye, a young Nigerian woman who tragically passed away during an Egypt Air flight to London, United Kingdom. Meshioye, who embarked on the journey from Nigeria aboard Egypt Air MS 876 on Monday via the Murtala Muhammad International Airport (MMIA) in Lagos, was en route to London on a student visa. However, her life was cut short as she reportedly died onboard the flight, with her body subsequently left in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, by the airline.
In the wake of this devastating incident, Meshioye's family has come forward, issuing a heartfelt statement signed by Olufunmilola Olaniyi-Alabi, the deceased's elder sister. The family is now demanding that Egypt Air release their daughter's body to them and provide an explanation of the circumstances surrounding her death.
According to Olaniyi-Alabi, the airline failed to inform the family directly about the tragedy. Instead, they received a message from the consular office in Cairo, notifying them of their daughter's passing during the flight. Expressing their anguish, Olaniyi-Alabi expressed the family's need to understand exactly what transpired and how they can repatriate Meshioye's body back to Nigeria.
"My sister left Lagos for the UK on Monday at 14:00 via Egyptair, but tragically she died during her transit from Lagos to Cairo, based on the limited information we received," explained Olaniyi-Alabi. The family attempted to contact Egypt Air's customer care and other listed phone numbers on their website but received no response throughout Wednesday. When they did manage to reach someone, the call was abruptly ended.
"We only managed to speak to a man once at the Egypt Air Region Office in London," Olaniyi-Alabi continued, "and he claimed that the London office had no knowledge of the incident and couldn't provide us with any information." Left with no alternative, the family reported the matter to the UK Police Department, who confirmed that Meshioye was not in the UK. The police advised them to reach out to airports in Cairo or Lagos. Subsequently, they contacted the ticket agent who provided proof that Meshioye did not board the plane from Cairo to Heathrow.
Olaniyi-Alabi revealed that it was at this point that they escalated their efforts to contact Egypt Air. "My husband and I reside in Leeds, UK, and we traveled to London (Heathrow) on Wednesday night to seek an audience with the Egypt Air regional manager in their London office," she explained. "On Thursday afternoon, she made some calls to their Cairo office and informed us that Remi fell ill on the plane. Upon landing in Cairo, she was rushed to a local hospital, where she later passed away. However, we were unable to obtain further details about her cause of death. The regional manager claimed that the Nigerian Embassy had been informed and should have been the ones to contact us. She then reached out to the Nigerian consulate, Saliu Agraza."
Olaniyi-Alabi alleged that Egypt Air is hiding the truth about what transpired on the plane and upon landing, refusing to take responsibility for the incident. "As Remilekun's family, we demand that Egypt Air return her body to Nigeria at their own expense, along with all her belongings, which should be sent back to Lagos, where she boarded the plane on September 4th," she asserted.
The family has expressed their frustration with the lack of communication and transparency from Egypt Air, urging the airline to cooperate fully and provide them with the necessary information and support during this difficult time.
