A passenger aboard a Kenya Airways flight from Nairobi to Lagos died on Tuesday, October 6, 2026, after suffering a medical emergency roughly 20 minutes before the aircraft was due to land at Murtala Muhammed International Airport.
Kenya Airways confirmed the death in a statement issued on Wednesday. “Kenya Airways PLC (‘KQ’) confirms that on Tuesday, 06 October 2026, our flight from Nairobi to Lagos experienced a medical emergency on board at around 21:20 hrs local Nigerian time,” the airline said.
According to Kenya Airways, the passenger’s condition deteriorated while the aircraft was still airborne, prompting the crew to activate emergency response procedures and administer first aid as the plane prepared to land.
The aircraft touched down in Lagos at about 9.41pm, where medical personnel were waiting on the tarmac to board the plane and attend to the passenger. Following an examination, the medical team confirmed the passenger had died.
“One of our passengers was found to be unresponsive approximately 20 minutes before landing in Lagos,” the airline said.
Kenya Airways extended condolences to the passenger’s family and friends and apologised for the inconvenience caused by the incident, adding that it was “providing the necessary support in close coordination with the deceased’s family, local authorities, and aviation regulators.”
The identity of the passenger and the exact medical cause of death have not been disclosed.
The Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Michael Achimugu, said police have taken over investigations into the circumstances surrounding the death.
According to Nigerian reports, the passenger, a Nigerian national, had originally been travelling on a Lagos-Madagascar route via Nairobi, but was refused entry on arrival in Madagascar by immigration authorities there, prompting Kenya Airways to return him to Nigeria on the return leg of the journey, during which he died.
The reports describing this sequence remain unconfirmed by Kenya Airways itself. Investigators are expected to establish the full circumstances surrounding the passenger’s final minutes before his death was confirmed.
Tuesday’s incident is not an isolated one for the airline. According to reporting on the case, it marks the fifth in-flight passenger death reported by Kenya Airways during international operations since 2022, renewing scrutiny of how the carrier handles medical emergencies on long-haul and regional routes.
The airline has not released further detail on the previous incidents or on what, if any, changes it plans to make to its in-flight medical emergency protocols following Tuesday’s death.
