Flying coffins home

Are you planning to hold the funeral of your loved one back home with family and friends?

If he or she died in Switzerland, that means sending their ashes or their coffin back to your home country. How does this work?

Urns with ashes are easier to repatriate than coffins, although a certain amount of paperwork is still required. More about that later in this article.

If, on the other hand, you are repatriating your loved one in a coffin, the procedure can be very time-consuming and is usually expensive. The fact that there are no standardised regulations at the international level can often give rise to confusion. In addition, documentation and procedures differ from one Swiss canton to another.

A few years ago, an Indian tourist died suddenly in Switzerland. Her husband wanted to repatriate her body back to India. This proved to be anything but easy.

First of all, he experienced delays in obtaining both the medical report and the death certificate.

Then, the procedures for organising the coffin transport were extraordinarily lengthy. And finally, it seems that his insurance company in India imposed conditions that were simply unrealistic.

Regretfully, the family decided not to repatriate the body but to cremate it in Switzerland. The grieving husband returned home empty-handed.

Finally, some time later, both Swiss and Indian customs approvals were obtained to send the urn back home. Unfortunately, the husband was already back in India and there was nobody in Switzerland to sort out the final details of flying the urn home. Eventually, the son had to travel all the way from the USA to Switzerland to see to his mother’s repatriation. All in all, it had been a long and very costly procedure.

Despite all the costs and complications of flying coffins from one country to another, for many people religious considerations mean that there is no alternative to repatriation of bodies rather than ashes. Religions which do not permit cremation include Islam, Judaism and Eastern Orthodoxy. In the case of Roman Catholics, cremation has been permitted since 1963, although many families still prefer a traditional burial.

In my blog today, I will begin with the formalities associated with the repatriation of urns, and then move on to the more complex topic of repatriating coffins from Switzerland.

For the details set out here I would like to express my gratitude to Levin Ulmann, from Gerber Lindau funeral directors in Zurich, and Beat Burkhard, from Egli funeral directors in Berne, for all of their extremely useful information on this subject. I have also included information on repatriation from Egli funeral directors in Lucerne.

Repatriating urns

Families who carry the urn containing their loved one’s ashes with them in an aircraft cabin require a cremation certificate issued by a Swiss crematorium (“Kremationsbescheinigung”). This may be free, as in Zurich, or subject to a charge in some other cantons.

An international death certificate is not usually required, but Egli funeral directors in Berne have found that for repatriation more documentation is generally better than less, to cater for unexpected requirements in other countries. For this reason, Egli recommends that family also carry a certificate of confirmation that the death has been reported (“Bestätigung der Anmeldung eines Todesfalls”), which is issued by the local authority. This document should bear an official stamp stating that it is not an official death certificate. Egli also recommends taking the passport or ID document of the deceased.

In view of the additional documentation required by some countries, Levin Ulmann from Gerber Lindau in the canton of Zurich says that it is generally advisable to check with the Embassy in question. The US Embassy has a “Special Consular Services Team” which supports families in this area.

Before choosing to take the urn with them, families should also check special regulations in the destination country.

In Germany, for instance, all urns must be buried in cemeteries. For this reason, says Beat Burkhard from Egli Berne, crematoriums in Germany will not hand over urns to family members in case they decide to scatter the ashes elsewhere. Any urn being repatriated to Germany must therefore be freighted by a Swiss funeral director direct to the local funeral director in Germany. Anyone transporting an urn in the plane to Germany is liable to prosecution, says Levin Ulmann from Gerber Lindau.

Families also need to check that the urn can be screened by the airport security system and that it is not breakable. For this reason, Levin Ulmann from Gerber Lindau funeral home recommends the use of a wooden urn. Beat Burkhard from Egli Berne recommends a copper urn and advises against a clay urn, which could break. “Families can take the copper urn with them in the cabin, wrapped in a cloth,” he says.

It is possible to send urns home unaccompanied. Some countries, such as Sri Lanka, specify that they be sent with named carriers, such as DHL. These carriers often have their own additional requirements regarding documentation.

Gerber Lindau offers a service whereby one of its employees will accompany the urn to its destination. “This is often cheaper than a courier,” says Levin Ulmann, “and gives families a feeling of security”.

Repatriating coffins

Repatriation of bodies in coffins can be time-consuming, costly and complex. While repatriation of urns does not necessarily require a funeral director, in the case of coffins they are always involved.

Many Swiss funeral directors provide repatriation services. In addition, there are a number of specialised funeral homes, such as the two large companies providing services to Muslims. It has been estimated that 90-95% of Muslims living in Switzerland wish to be buried in their home countries. One of the two companies, Furat International Repatriation, transports 300-400 coffins a year.

Levin Ulmann from Gerber Lindau in Zurich estimates that repatriation of coffins can take up to a maximum of 15 days, with more distant destinations like India or Sri Lanka taking the longest. Delays can occur in cases where an autopsy is required, or where arrangements at the Swiss or destination airport are held up by time differences or weekends. At Egli Berne, the turnaround time for a coffin repatriation is between 2-4 days and a maximum of a week. “Generally, we can process repatriations very quickly,” says Beat Burkhard. “If the family comes in on a Monday, the coffin can be in the aircraft on Wednesday.”

Overall repatriation procedures cost between CHF 4,000 and CHF 10,000, according to Beat Burkhard. The actual figure depends on a number of factors including the distance involved and the weight of the deceased. Levin Ulmann agrees they can cost up to CHF 10,000, with expensive services such as embalming or translations adding considerably to the overall cost.

At Egli Berne, families are required to pay in advance by online bank transfer. This is because Egli has experienced cases where a coffin was repatriated and then no payment was received.

Coffins transported to other countries must be lined with zinc, with an airtight seal. In Zurich, the district medical officer must be present when the coffin is sealed. In Lucerne, the medical officer must provide a protocol relating to the sealing of the coffin. If the coffin travels by air, it also requires a pressure compensation valve.

Embalming is required for almost all countries that are not members of the Schengen Agreement, according to Levin Ulmann. This procedure is carried out by the cantonal forensic medicine institutes or by one of the few independent thanatologists in Switzerland. It can take up to two to three days.

Repatriated coffins must be accompanied by appropriate documentation. All coffins require a corpse transport permit or “Laisser passer for a corpse” (“Leichenpass”). In Berne this is called a “Leichenpass und Einsargungszeugnis”, a single document which combines the “Laisser passer” and a certification that coffining procedures, including the sealing protocol, have been completed.

Egli Lucerne also lists the following documentation: Passport or identity card, medical confirmation of death certificate (“Todesbescheinigung”) with a brief medical diagnosis, international death certificate obtained from the local civil registry, burial authorisation (“Bestattungsbewilligung”) from the local authority at the place of death, details of funeral directors handling the case in both Switzerland and at the destination.

As not all countries require a death certificate, Beat Burkhard at Egli Berne also suggests providing a certificate of confirmation that the death has been reported (“Bestätigung der Anmeldung eines Todesfalls”), issued by the local authority.

Some countries require that the corpse transport permit (“Laisser passer”) bear the certified signature, or “Apostille”, of a district medical officer.

In addition, some countries require additional documents issued by their embassy. These include the USA, Greece, India and Sri Lanka. The US, for instance, has very comprehensive requirements and it is essential to contact the US Consular services for assistance in meeting the requisite formalities.

Moreover, a number of countries require documentation from a doctor that the deceased was free of any infectious illness (“ärztliches Unbedenklichkeitszeugnis”). Provisions in this area change constantly and were particularly stringent during the Covid period.

Farewell ceremony and flight home

Once all the documentation is available, a flight can be booked through a transport company. The coffin is issued with an Airway Bill, explains Levin Ulmann, which is given to the funeral director in the destination country. The coffin may travel with a freight aircraft or with a passenger airline that transports coffins, such as Turkish Airlines, Swiss, British Airways, Iberia, Emirates or Qatar Airways.

How big is the repatriation business? For Switzerland, no figures on the number of repatriations are available. For Germany, figures were quoted in a television programme some ten years ago, which reported that a total of 40,000 people were repatriated from Germany each year. However, not all of these repatriations were by air, with some travelling overland.

What are the backgrounds of people whose families choose to repatriate them? A few are tourists faced with the tragic and unexpected death of a family member on holiday in Switzerland – like the Indian family I mentioned at the beginning of this blog. 

More often they are people who have lived and worked in Switzerland for many years. They often have a wide circle or colleagues and friends here. In these cases, families may choose to hold a farewell ceremony in the town where their loved one was living, so that all their friends can take their leave in a dignified and appropriate manner. Afterwards, the ashes or coffins return to their home country for the final farewell and burial by their nearest and dearest.