Tragedy at Lanzarote Airport as British Tourist Dies After Jet2 Flight
A British holidaymaker has tragically died at Lanzarote Airport shortly after arriving on a flight from the United Kingdom. The man collapsed less than thirty minutes after disembarking from a Jet2 aircraft and while approaching the passport control area at César Manrique-Lanzarote Airport.
Timeline of the Incident
The alarm was raised at 2.48pm local time on Thursday, February 12, 2026, just twenty-two minutes after the plane landed at 2.26pm. Despite the swift response from emergency services, the tourist was pronounced dead at the scene. Sources indicate the death was due to natural causes, with local reports suggesting a heart attack.
Civil Guard sources confirmed the individual was British and stated the death is not being treated as suspicious. It remains unclear how old the man was or whether he was travelling alone or with companions.
Airport Conditions Under Scrutiny
Officials have ruled out any immediate link between the tourist's death and the lengthy passport control queues that British travellers frequently encounter upon arrival to the island. However, this incident has prompted renewed complaints about the conditions in the arrivals area.
The man collapsed in a shaded section of terminal one, where passengers are funnelled shortly before reaching passport control booths staffed by police officers. Local media have previously criticised this area, describing it as having no access to toilets, no seating, and temperatures that can become nearly unbearable during busy periods.
Tourism Sector Expresses Alarm
One Lanzarote-based online outlet reported growing alarm within the island's tourism sector following the man's death. Industry figures are deeply concerned about the state of passport controls at the airport, describing the situation as increasingly distressing for arriving visitors.
The worry in the sector is that a luxury destination has a third-world entrance, the outlet reported. Beyond Thursday's tragic event, the tourism sector of Lanzarote is observing with growing concern what happens every day at passport controls.
Sources from the sector agree on an alarming diagnosis: the queues are not only long, they are becoming a cause for despair.
Recent Aviation-Related Tragedy
This incident follows a separate aviation-related tragedy involving British passengers in December. Holidaymakers claimed an elderly British woman was wheeled onto an easyJet flight from Malaga to Gatwick when she was already dead.
The aircraft was turned around before take-off, and the flight was delayed by twelve hours. One passenger, Tracy-Ann Kitching, later said on social media that she saw the woman being brought onto the plane while someone supported her head.
She claimed a doctor later confirmed the woman had already died before boarding. EasyJet rejected those claims at the time, insisting the passenger had a fit-to-fly certificate and was alive when she boarded.
A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Malaga later confirmed officers were called to an aircraft at Malaga Airport after an elderly British woman went into cardiac arrest. She was pronounced dead on the plane, which had been due to depart for London shortly after 11am on December 18.
