- Passengers on a British Airways flight from London to Nice, France thought a fellow traveler was asleep.
- They grew concerned when the elderly woman did not wake up after the flight landed.
A passenger who appeared to be asleep but did not wake after a plane landed had died during the flight, apparently unnoticed.
The Connexion, an English language outlet in France, reported that the incident occurred on a British Airways flight from London Heathrow airport to Nice, France on Thursday.
The departure of BA348 was delayed and passengers thought the 73-year-old woman had been resting during the journey.
But after the flight landed in the south of France almost two hours behind schedule and she did not stir, other passengers alerted cabin crew, per the report.
Emergency services attempted to resuscitate her, but she was pronounced dead, Connexion France reported.
She was thought to have suffered a heart attack at some point during the flight. The woman's nationality was not known, nor whether she had been traveling alone.
A representative for British Airways told Insider: "Sadly, a customer passed away on a flight from London Heathrow to Nice. Our thoughts are with the customer's family at this difficult time."
Deaths during flights are rare but not exceptional events, with an average of one fatality for every 287 million passengers traveling with British airlines, according to the UK's Civil Aviation Authority.
Airlines have their own policies about dealing with deceased passengers. A former flight attendant previously told Insider that the individual is often strapped into their seat and covered by a blanket until the flight landed.
Cabin crew are not medical professionals so they cannot legally pronounce someone dead.