Man tries to board flight with deceased wife at Tenerife South Airport

A man attempted to board a flight with his wife’s body at Tenerife South Airport, Spanish authorities have confirmed. Although the incident has only now become public, it occurred on 24 October last year during a security check at the airport.

According to the Guardia Civil, there were no signs of criminal activity in the death of the woman, who was 75 years old. Her husband, an approximately 80-year-old foreign national, was travelling with her in a wheelchair in order to catch a flight to their country of origin.

Airport security staff became suspicious when they noticed that the woman, who reportedly suffered from severe mobility problems, did not respond to any stimuli and had an abnormally low body temperature. Medical services were immediately alerted and confirmed that the woman had died. As a result, the standard protocol for the discovery of a deceased person was activated.

Sources close to the investigation stated that from the outset it was clear that the death was due to natural causes. For this reason, the husband was not arrested. Authorities also indicated that it remains unclear whether the man was aware that his wife had already died when he attempted to pass through the security checkpoint.

The incident took place at Tenerife South Airport, one of the Canary Islands’ main international transport hubs, and is now being reported several months after it occurred.