ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A Texas woman died of COVID-19 while onboard a Spirit Airlines flight that was diverted to Albuquerque earlier this year.
According to The Washington Post, on the evening of July 24, the flight left Las Vegas and was on its way to the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport when it was diverted to Albuquerque.
According to Stephanie Kitts, spokeswoman for the Albuquerque International Sunport, the flight had to be diverted to Albuquerque because the woman became unresponsive.
The woman had difficulty breathing and was given oxygen but died on the jetway in Albuquerque, according to NBC Dallas–Fort Worth.
The Dallas County Judge’s Office disclosed her death said she was in her 30s and had an underlying medical condition.
According to Kitts, Albuquerque airport managers were not told the woman had COVID-19 and initially treated the diversion the same as any other medical diversion.
“Based on that report, and the fact that there was no mention of COVID at the time of the diversion, we treated this as we would any other medical incident,” Kitts said in an email to The Arizona Republic.
According to KRQE, Dallas officials first reported that the woman died in Arizona before confirming that she actually died in New Mexico. The woman was added to the Dallas County coronavirus death report on Sunday.
The Washington Post reports that it is unknown how many people were on the flight or whether any of the passengers were notified that they might have been exposed to coronavirus.