ATHENS – The body of an Irish man who passed away in Greece and was repatriated to Ireland ended up returning to Greece when a ground handling company at Dublin airport failed to offload the coffin.

Swissport, the responsible party for handling luggage, has initiated an “urgent investigation” into the incident following its report by the Sunday Independent. Subsequently, the body was returned to Ireland. A company spokesperson expressed deep apologies to the family, stating that they had made every effort to swiftly resolve the situation.

No information was provided regarding the cause of the man’s death or his identity. The report mentioned that the coffin was transported from Greece to Dublin on May 22 but was not unloaded as the family awaited its arrival with a hearse due to an error.

Irish media and Dublin Airport officials referred to it as a “misload,” but did not clarify how a coffin could go missing on the plane while the family was waiting for it. Consequently, the coffin was flown back to Greece before being put on another flight back to Ireland.