Women Arrested For Trying To Take DEAD Relative On Plane
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A 91-year-old German man has been refused entry to a flight in Liverpool's John Lennon Airport - because he was dead.
The recently departed man was brought to the airport by two relatives on Saturday, sitting in a wheelchair and sporting a pair of sunglasses.
Staff became suspicious when the man did not respond to questions by airport staff. His relatives, two women aged 41 and 66, were arrested.
The couple were believed to be attempting to flout repatriation fees for the dead man. Bodies being repatriated by air are required to be contained inside hermetically-sealed zinc-lined coffins and require paperwork to travel in the hold.
A spokeswoman for Rowland Brothers, a funeral directors which specialize in the field, told The Times of London, "I have not heard of anything like this before. It is most bizarre. I am outraged that they would think they could get away with it."
The couple have been released on bail and the death is not being treated as suspicious.
A spokeswoman for the airport said, "I have never heard of anything like this before. It is a bit of a strange one to be honest."
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First Posted: 06/06/10 06:12 AM ET Updated: 05/25/11 05:05 PM ET