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Passengers at Tenerife South Airport were left stunned when an elderly man attempted to board a flight with his wife’s lifeless body in a wheelchair.

 

According to reports, the incident happened on Thursday October 24, but has only recently come to light. The man, around 80 years old and of foreign nationality, was preparing to board a flight to his home country with his 75-year-old wife, who used a wheelchair due to serious mobility issues.

 

As the couple reached the security area, staff became concerned when the woman failed to respond to routine checks. An airport employee said she touched the woman’s hand and realised it was “abnormally cold”. When colleagues confirmed she wasn’t breathing, the airport immediately activated its emergency protocol. “Within minutes, numerous security agents, Guardia Civil officers and forensic staff were on the scene,” an employee reported.

 

The Guardia Civil later determined that the woman had died of natural causes and that there were no signs of foul play. The man was released after cooperating fully with authorities. Investigators are still unsure whether he was aware that his wife had died before going through security.

 

The unusual situation caused shock among other travellers in the terminal, many of whom witnessed the scene unfold. One bystander described it as “very sad and confusing” given that, until that point, airport staff believed the woman was simply asleep or unwell.

 

This is the second such incident in Spain in recent weeks. Last month, a British family was accused of wheeling their dead grandmother onto a Málaga flight bound for the UK. In that case, the airline maintained that the elderly woman had boarded alive but died before take-off, a claim that sparked widespread reaction online. Petra Boddington on TikTok flippantly remarked, "EasyJet, when did you start letting dead people onto planes?"

 

Two similar but highly unusual cases at Spanish airports within weeks show the delicate line between heartbreak and confusion in busy travel hubs. In both the Tenerife and Málaga cases, authorities quickly ruled out foul play and confirmed natural causes, leaving grieving families and stunned witnesses to process what happened.

 

 

Image: wikicommons