When a loved one dies, there is a period of dire loss if the death occurs suddenly while the individual is abroad. Few people are familiar with transporting a deceased person to their hometown or final resting place so that funeral rites get performed in front of family members. The body is transportable by air or road. But in the case of an international or a domestic transfer to a remote location, road transport is an impractical cost of repatriation. In this situation, air transport is ideal. I’ve outlined a few mandatory procedures for transporting a deceased passenger below.
1. Contact a Funeral Home in Your Area
If a person dies while travelling, they will likely end up at a local hospital, where a physician or medical examiner will certify the individual’s death and complete the necessary paperwork. Since I was unfamiliar with the area, the hospital connected me with a local funeral home in my case. From this point forward, the funeral director became my primary point of contact for the repatriation costs in sending my dearly departed back to my home.
2. Arrange for Mortuary Services
Before the repatriation of the deceased body to the airport, I needed to keep my loved one in a mortuary. It prevented my deceased loved one from decomposing. And I had to reserve a spot at a private or a public mortuary. I also scheduled an ambulance with a freezer box to transport the deceased to the mortuary.
3. Obtain a Coffin Certificate
As soon as the embalming was complete, I was required to schedule coffin box certificates with the closest funeral homes. And it was essential to verify that the coffin box was brand new and delivered by a reputable funeral director. All documents, including the death certificate, copy of the post-mortem, embalming certificate, coffin certificate, and contact information for the funeral service representative who will receive the deceased body at the airport’s cargo terminal, should be readily available. And to transport human remains from the hospital to the airport, I reserved a mortuary ambulance in advance for the smooth repatriation of the deceased.
4. Book a Flight
Given that each airline has different requirements for transporting human remains, it is likely that the funeral home has done this before and knows which local airlines are the best options. Once I checked the websites, I discovered that not all aircraft permit the shipment of a corpse as cargo. I examined the availability of those who allow this. I knew that I could accompany the corpse on the flight and have a relative, friend, or funeral home representative collect it at the destination airport. A small cost of repatriation.
5. Arrange for Cargo
I examined the cargo airlines that accept human remains. Then, I contacted the air cargo division to inquire about the service’s availability and the next vacant flight. I recommend booking cargo if they accept online reservations, as most airlines do not accept online reservations for dead bodies. You must make reservations in person at the cargo department.
To have an estimate of repatriation costs, Flying Home can help you find cost-effective means.
