Delta diverts Lagos flight to Lome after thunderstorm, passenger’s death

A yet-to-be identified passenger onboard Delta Air Lines’ Atlanta-Lagos flights reportedly died midair on Monday.

The PUNCH learnt that she died due to a health emergency that occurred midair, approximately three hours before the flight’s scheduled arrival in Lagos.

Although a decision was made by the crew to proceed to Lagos, it was learnt that heavy thunderstorm in the area forced the pilots to divert the plane to Lome, Togo.

The flight took an additional delay in Lome due to refueling and the weather, according to some persons close to the development. The Delta Air Lines’ A330-200 aircraft had 215 customers onboard.

However, the flight later landed safely in Lagos, approximately eight and a half hour after the scheduled time. The flight was initially scheduled to arrive by 10am on Monday. It was learnt that the passengers received compensation.

Delta Air in a statement apologised for the inconveniences, adding that the airline regretted any difficulty or delays caused to its customers’ travel arrangements during the flight.

The statement read, “Delta flight 54 ATL-LOS has landed safely in LOS after an onboard customer medical situation and subsequent diversion to LFW due to weather. We sincerely apologise to our customers for the inconvenience and delay in their travel plans.”

Meanwhile, some passengers and Nigerians made comments on social media about the flight.

@samson_Goddy posted a tweet on X stating that his flight was delayed and that two medical emergencies occurred, including the death of a woman in midair.

He noted that the passengers were forced to make an emergency landing in a different country after the aircraft ran out of fuel.

He wrote, “My Delta flight from Atlanta to Lagos was scheduled to land at 10am, but arrived at 6pm or later.

“So we had two health emergencies: a lady died on the flight midair, we ran out of fuel and were forced to do an emergency landing in another country, and we were grounded for 5+ hours.

Responding to questions on X about the incident he added, “Yes, oh, one woman died like that three hours after we left. I think it was a heart attack, because there was a doctor onboard. But I overheard something similar.”

Reacting to the incident, @BayoAdesosu also stated that the airline should openly address the incident by releasing a statement and displaying its landing records.