Body transport

More and more people want to be buried abroad. Their choice is very often motivated by the desire to find their origins and their roots but also to respect their religious beliefs.

It is defined by body transport, the fact that the deceased must be transported outside the Swiss borders to the chosen destination. This transfer is done, in the majority of cases, by land or by air.

This transport of body must obligatorily be organized by a company of funeral and can not therefore be carried out by the family. International body transport is highly regulated and subject to very strict health codes. It depends not only on Swiss legislation but also on the conditions put in place by the country of destination. The Cassar SA funeral parlor supports you by carrying out administrative procedures and taking care of all the steps of the process.

Body transport is therefore highly regulated and subject to various obligations. Some are imposed by the authorities and others by the airlines which set their conditions according to the destinations and which may represent a problem of compatibility for the type of funeral planned :

• the wooden casket must be placed in an airtight metal casing which must be cold welded (which is a problem for cremation)
• conservation care must be practiced on the remains, which is prohibited in case of transmissible infectious disease
• some airlines require the casket to be installed in a wooden box
• other airlines impose that the body has undergone treatment with thanatopraxis
• finally, the urns are totally forbidden in the cabin

As we have seen, the transport of the body is subject to many permissions to obtain. Indeed, it is governed by Swiss and foreign laws but also by international law.

Thus, the family must provide various certificates :

• the death certificate
• a death certificate issued by the Cantonal Office
• a certificate of non-contagion issued and signed by a doctor
• a notice of non-epidemic issued by a cantonal doctor
• a coffin closing report signed by the official who assisted
• a mortuary pass from the country of destination

Relatively complex and highly regulated, transporting a deceased person internationally requires the intervention of experienced funeral directors.

The intervention of such companies represents a cost for :

• body preparation
• providing an adequate casket
• the choice of transport
• administrative procedures

It should be noted that a transport by road will be evaluated according to the distance of the journey whereas an air repatriation will depend on the weight of the coffin. As such, it is recommended to check whether the deceased held a life insurance or if he had taken out a funeral insurance including a guarantee on the repatriation of the body.