Emirates Airlines in Tanzania did not really stand up for its slogan to be the connector of people. It had neglected an overweight man who died this weekend. Emirates has been blamed by many for this tragic and unfortunate death.

ETN reached out to Emirates, but received no response.

Family members of the late Sande Jacob Mremi, a resident of Tanzania’s capital of Dar es Salaam, pointed a finger to Emirates Airlines for failing to board him for treatment in India.

The 25-year-old man was suffering from a weight of 250 kilograms, and every airline approached in Tanzania so far were unable to allocate him a seat due to his oversized body.

They told a leading Tanzanian television station, ITV, that their son
has been suffering from obesity and was referred to India for
treatment, but failed to get a seat through international airlines
operating in Tanzania, including Emirates, to fly to India to undergo an urgently-needed treatment.

Family members further accused Dubai-based Emirates Airlines,
which connects Tanzania and the rest of the world via Dubai for failing to fulfill their obligation regulated by contract and refused this passenger on a booked and confirmed flight.

According to the Emirates Airlines managers in Dar es Salaam, seats were too small to make him fly safely and comfortably.

Emirates managers said it needed to uproot at least six seats to get a
space that would allow aircraft engineers to create a single,
big-sized seat that would be spacious enough to accommodate that obese
man throughout his long journey from Africa to India.

They said that the airline’s Airbus long-haul aircraft was not
equipped with such big seats that would help to accommodate the obese
man.

The passenger paid the enormous amount of US$13,800 to Emirates. This should cover several tickets for such a flight. In a 2011 survey, more than 30 percent of travelers in the UAE believe that airlines in the region should charge overweight passengers more because of their size.

A poll carried out by Emirates 24/7 found that 32 percent of people believe airlines should charge a “fat tax.” However, the majority (63 percent) voted against this, saying such a move will amount to unfair discrimination. In this case, Emirates clearly charged the airfare many times over and did not fulfill its obligation to provide the contracted transportation service.

It is a rare incident to find obese people in Tanzania.

Further reports stated that the family of the obese man had later
approached Star Alliance Member Ethiopian Airlines for the same purpose, and managers had promised them to arrange a seat for the man. The man died before the Addis Ababa-based airline arranged a seat for him to fly this Sunday.

This is the first such reported incident in Tanzania’s aviation industry and received stakeholders attention.

Emirates newly-launched flights to Tanzania had increased the total
passenger and cargo capacity by 2,370 seats and up to 170 tons
respectively with flights available every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Saturday, and Sunday.