British holidaymaker, 61, suddenly dies on Jet2 plane as it’s about to take off back to UK from Spain

A British man has tragically died whilst on board a Jet2 plane on Friday (6 October). According to local reports, the shocking incident took place at around midday as the plane was ready to head back to East Midlands Airport from Reus Airport in Costa Dorada, Spain.

The man is believed to be 61 years old but it is not clear whether he was travelling alone or with family or friends. The Jet2 flight was due to head back to the East Midlands Airport but ended up leaving around seven hours after it was originally planned to fly out after the pilot put the plane’s departure on hold.

The pilot radioed for medical assistance after the unnamed passenger reportedly lost consciousness. Emergency services raced to the scene but were unable to save the man’s life and he was pronounced dead onboard.

A post-mortem is already thought to have taken place but the results have not been made public - which is normal in Spain. They will be sent directly to an investigating judge in charge of a routine inquiry into the man’s death.

Police have not made any official comment on the man’s death. However, one local report linked it to possible heart failure.

It comes after a 73-year-old woman suddenly died on a BA flight from London. Passengers thought she was sleeping next to them but discovered she had actually died.

The woman had boarded BA flight 348 from Heathrow to France on 21 September. Paramedics and firefighters were called to the plane after passengers began lining up to disembark and realised something was wrong, but there was nothing they could do to revive her. Reports at the time said she was believed to have suffered a heart attack in the air.