Passenger Sues US Airways For Allegedly Misplacing Her Husband’s Ashes

It’s been two years since the ashes of a Philadelphia-area woman’s late husband went missing during a US Airways flight to England, and she says the airline has been ignoring her ever since. We first told you about her story back in January, but that didn’t turn up the ashes or an explanation. Now she’s filed a lawsuit in the hopes of getting the airline’s attention.

The woman’s husband passed away in 2011 but before his death, he’d asked that his ashes be scattered in Hull, England.

And so his widow tried to make good on this request, but at the airport security checkpoint, she says a TSA screener told her she couldn’t carry on the ashes because they “were not a solid substance,” even though ashes are indeed solid and are currently permitted as carry-on items by the TSA.

She took the box containing the ashes back to the US Airways ticket counter and handed over the box so that it could be placed in her checked luggage.

All this delay caused the passenger to arrive at the gate late, only to find that her coach seat had been given to a standby passenger. According to her suit, the only way to get on that flight — the same flight her husband’s ashes were supposed to be on — was to pay $500 to upgrade to first class.

When she arrived in England, she claims that her checked ashes were nowhere to be found.

Since then, says the passenger, the airline’s response to her queries has been, “Ignore, ignore, ignore.”

“They obviously made the choice, through incompetence and outrageous behavior, to determine his last resting place,” she told WCAU-TV.

In a statement to the Philadelphia Daily New, a rep for the airline said, “US Airways’ investigation into this matter did not uncover any information indicating that US Airways is responsible for this unfortunate incident… We, of course, will defend ourselves against this suit.”

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