A woman tragically passed away mid-flight on a plane traveling from Brisbane to Melbourne. The incident occurred around 9:30 am on a Virgin Australia flight. Flight crew members administered CPR to the woman as the plane was given priority landing at Tullamarine, touching down at 10:15 am. Emergency crews were on the tarmac to assist her upon arrival.

A Virgin Australia spokesperson informed Daily Mail Australia that the passenger was taken off the aircraft but unfortunately did not survive. Authorities are not treating the death as suspicious, and police will prepare a report for the coroner.

Virgin Australia

Virgin Australia is an Australian airline with core features of a low-cost carrier along with some elements of full-service airlines. It is one of two active airlines (the other being Virgin Atlantic) to use the Virgin brand, as well as the larger by fleet size. It commenced services on 31 August 2000 as Virgin Blue, with two aircraft on a single route. It suddenly found itself as a major airline in Australia’s domestic market after the collapse of Ansett Australia in September 2001. As of June 2024, the airline serves 33 Australian destinations with its Boeing 737 MAX and Boeing 737 Next Generation fleets from its hubs in Brisbane, Melbourne, and Sydney.

The airline also operates a limited number of short-haul international flights. Australian law prohibits the majority of foreign-owned local airlines, like Virgin Australia, from operating international flights to and from Australia. However, Virgin Australia evades this law by operating international flights through a controversial ‘shell corporation’ structure, a practice that is not illegal but has been widely criticized across Australia’s aviation industry.

The airline’s headquarters is based in South Bank, Queensland. It was co-founded by British businessman Richard Branson (the founder of Virgin Group), and former CEO Brett Godfrey.

In 2011, the airline went through a period of transformation, changing its brand to Virgin Australia. This included the introduction of a new aircraft livery, new uniforms, and new onboard menu options, as well as a business class product, which Virgin Blue did not have. New wide-body aircraft were acquired to compete with Qantas, and business class was rolled out across the Virgin Australia network.

On 21 April 2020, Virgin Australia Holdings went into voluntary administration, due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and financial troubles in the years leading up to the pandemic. On 26 June 2020, it was announced that Bain Capital had entered into a sale and implementation deed with administrator Deloitte to acquire Virgin Australia. Creditors agreed to this proposal on 4 September 2020, with the reorganization and change of ownership completed on 17 November. The airline announced that as part of its relaunch, it would focus on being a mid-market “hybrid” carrier.