Kenya Airways confirmed that a passenger died on its Nairobi to Lagos flight on Tuesday, October 06, 2026.
The airline said the medical emergency occurred at about 21:20 hrs local Nigerian time, roughly 20 minutes before the scheduled arrival at Murtala Muhammed International Airport, and that cabin crew administered first aid while the aircraft continued to Lagos.
The aircraft landed at about 9.41 pm, where medical personnel boarded and after examination declared the passenger deceased; Kenya Airways expressed condolences and said it was coordinating support with the family, local authorities and aviation regulators.
Michael Achimugu, Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection at the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, said police have taken over the investigation, and Nigerian reports indicate the passenger, a Nigerian national, had been on a Lagos-Madagascar itinerary via Nairobi and was refused entry in Madagascar before being returned to Nigeria, a detail not confirmed by the airline.
The incident is the fifth in-flight passenger death reported by Kenya Airways during international operations since 2022, adding to earlier cases on April 11, 2025 (elderly passenger on a New York-Nairobi service diverted to Entebbe), September 2, 2022 (passenger unresponsive on a Nairobi-New York flight), August 22, 2022 (death on a New York-Nairobi service that diverted to Casablanca) and September 14, 2022 (passenger who died while boarding a Nairobi-Mombasa flight).
