When British Airways Flight BA32 touched down at London’s Heathrow, the long-haul trip still wasn’t over for the 331 people aboard. Police boarded the aircraft and instructed passengers to stay in their seats for about 45 minutes as officers looked into a death that had occurred during the journey.

According to reports, the passenger — a woman in her 60s — died within roughly the first hour after the Airbus A350-1000 departed Hong Kong for London. Despite early calls from some onboard to return to Hong Kong, the aircraft continued to the United Kingdom.

Apparently this decision reflects how airlines assess such situations once a passenger has already died. Once a passenger has died, it is not an emergency.

The death set off a difficult logistical and emotional challenge for the cabin crew, who had to determine how to manage the body for the remainder of the flight, reports said. An idea to place the woman in a lavatory was rejected, leaving staff to wrap her and relocate her to a galley area at the back of the plane.

That choice created another problem, according to the reporting: the galley’s floor was heated, and the body remained there for more than 13 hours. As the flight wore on and the aircraft approached London, passengers and crew at the rear of the cabin reportedly complained of a horrible smell.

After landing, authorities met the flight and carried out an initial investigation onboard, with travelers kept in place during the police response. No formal complaints were reported, but the episode was said to have weighed heavily on some crew members, with reports indicating that several took time away from work afterward.

British Airways, in a statement carried by The Sun, said “all procedures were correctly followed,” and emphasized that there is no single standard approach for every in-flight death.