It has emerged that the passenger who collapsed and died on a Jet2 flight was with his two children at the time.
Chris Neil was travelling with his sons Reece, 19, and Archie, 8, on a flight from Burgas, Bulgaria to Liverpool John Lennon Airport on Monday, September 16th, when he felt unwell on board. A GoFundMe page has now been set up to recover his body from Germany, where the flight was diverted.
The father died after suffering a possible massive heart attack while returning from a holiday with his two children in Tenerife. The Jet2 passenger aircraft made an emergency landing in Cologne and he was removed from the plane to waiting rescuers. The 40-year-old collapsed while descending the stairs from the plane to the runway.
His parents, Mal and Leslie, are raising funds to bring Chris home and organise a funeral, the Echo reported. The family revealed that Chris thought he had travel insurance through Halifax Bank but it expired and wasn’t renewed, leaving the family to cover the costs.
A fundraising page says it would cost around £12,000 to £15,000 to bring him home. So far £4,630 has been raised. The page included an emotional appeal from the family, which read: “Please help bring Chris home to his parents and children. Thank you to Chris’ family and friends.”
A Jet2.com spokesman said: “We can confirm that flight LS3214 from Burgas to Liverpool John Lennon was diverted to Cologne on Monday 16th September because a passenger required medical treatment.” We can confirm that unfortunately a customer has passed away. Our deepest condolences go to the customer’s family and friends at this very difficult time.”
A spokesman for Liverpool John Lennon Airport said: “We have been informed that flight LS3214 from Burgas to Liverpool was diverted to Cologne on Monday 16th September because a passenger required medical treatment and has unfortunately passed away. Our thoughts and deepest condolences go to the passenger’s family and friends at this sad time.”
