A 28-year-old woman was found dead in her seat after a four-hour Volaris flight from Tijuana to Tapachula, in Mexico’s southern state of Chiapas, on Wednesday, October 7, 2026. Fellow passengers reportedly noticed she was not moving as travellers began leaving the aircraft after it landed.
According to reports by Mexican media, the flight arrived at Tapachula International Airport in the early hours of Wednesday and appeared to have completed its journey without incident. The situation came to light during disembarkation, when passengers noticed that the woman remained motionless in her seat and did not respond.
Airport emergency personnel were called to the aircraft to assess her condition. The woman was subsequently confirmed dead, and authorities began the procedures required to remove her body and investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.
The passenger was identified in media reports as Abidai Lopez Solis. She had travelled from Tijuana, a city in northwestern Mexico near the United States border, to return to Chiapas and visit her family, according to local reporting.
An autopsy was conducted to establish the cause of death. Subsequent Mexican media reports said forensic findings linked her death to cardiorespiratory arrest, with natural causes cited. The findings were reported on October 8, although the full autopsy report had not been publicly released in the reports reviewed.
Footage recorded inside the airport appeared to show officials carrying the woman’s body away from the aircraft in what looked like a sheet. The images circulated as reports of the incident emerged, but the circumstances of her death remain separate from what can be established from the footage.
The case has also produced conflicting early accounts. While reports from several outlets described a woman found unresponsive as passengers disembarked, a report published by Mexican newspaper La Jornada initially described a 29-year-old male passenger who became ill during the flight and received assistance from a doctor travelling on board. Later reports identified the deceased as 28-year-old Abidai Lopez Solis.
The incident occurred aboard Volaris flight 3358, which travelled from Tijuana to Tapachula, a city in Chiapas near Mexico’s southern border. The flight landed without an emergency diversion, according to published reports. Volaris had not issued a public statement in the reports reviewed.
