A fully vaccinated air passenger infected with coronavirus was found dead in his seat after a flight.
The Pegasus Airlines crew found the 51-year-old man lifeless in his seat after Flight 1043 from Istanbul, Turkey, to Hamburg, Germany, on October 25.
The man, who was born in Russia and lived in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, was travelling on an Airbus 320 when he passed away during the flight, which took off from Istanbul at around 7am GMT (10am local time).
He was found lifeless in his seat by a member of staff after all other passengers had disembarked the aircraft in Hamburg at around 12pm GMT, (1pm German time), according to local media reports.
The official cause of the man’s death is not clear although local reports have suggested he had suffered from a number of serious prior illnesses, which were not specified.
The Airbus A320 operated by Turkish low-cost airline Pegasus Airlines had taken off from Istanbul and landed at its destination at around 1 pm on Monday, October 25.
Forensic pathologists performed a postmortem on the body and concluded that the man had probably died mid-flight.
They noted he tested positive for Covid but it is unclear if he had presented any symptoms during his final days. It is not known if Covid was the cause of death.
He was allowed to take the flight because he had proved he was fully vaccinated against coronavirus. German Covid-19 rules require passengers to reveal their Covid status before they fly.