The transport of a body is used over long distances, in Italy or abroad. It can be done by transporting the coffin of the deceased on cargo planes (also called freight planes, intended only for loading freight), or in a unit of the airliner’s cargo hold. Compared to the total number of body repatriation/expatriation services, air transport of a coffin actually accounts for almost 90% of services where distances exceed 3000 km. Not to mention intercontinental flights where obviously everything is transported by air.

The agencies operating on the airspedition.it platform are all IATA authorized agencies, which handle customs procedures on behalf of Italian and foreign funeral agencies. The forwarding agencies control the bureaucratic stage of sending the coffin before, during and upon issuance of the Air Waybill (AWB) according to TACT regulations in force for domestic, international and intercontinental airports.

If you are a relative of a deceased person who needs to be transported by air, you are NOT allowed by law to directly manage your transport service. To do this you must contact a funeral home, which is licensed to carry out this type of service.

The legislation in force for the transport of bodies on national and international territory provides a precise and detailed report of the rules that must be observed in order to transport the coffin from the place of death to the place where the funeral takes place. The designated agency must hold the necessary authorizations from the competent authorities (foreign Embassies and Consulates, competent Local Health Authorities, the locality of death / burial, the Public Prosecutor’s Office) capable of correctly managing any type of national and international transport of coffins.

The documentation required for the transport of the coffin must be requested by an official of the Funeral Agency organizing the service on behalf of the family of the deceased.

Certificate from the Local Health Authority stating that the provisions of the house referred to in Articles 30 and 32 of Presidential Decree 285/90 have been complied with and in the case of death due to infectious-contagious diseases, also the provisions of Articles 18 and 25 of the same PTT (provisions on transport and treatment).

LHA certificate of territorial jurisdiction for compliance with the provisions of the Berlin Convention of February 10, 1937
Authorization from the Judicial Authority for the burial and transport of the body abroad.

tax stamp for the mortuary passport
tax stamp for the application for a mortuary passport
Burial authorization issued by the Town Hall
for countries acceding to the Berlin Convention, no Foreign Consular Authority is required for eventual visa and legalization.
Declaration of closure of the coffin certified by the Funeral Home
Extract for the summary of the death certificate
Italian death certificate
Multilingual death certificate, issued by the Civil Registry Office of the Town Hall where the death occurred
Application stamped by the designated funeral home

Tax stamp to be affixed to the mortuary passport
Death certificate extract
LHA authorization for transport abroad
Burial authorization
Stamped authorization for transport of the body
Coffin closure Minutes
Embalming treatment
ISTAT sheet
Necropsy certificate
Hospital opinion, if death occurred in a hospital establishment
Authorization from the Public Prosecutor’s Office (in case of violent death)

Issue of the “Mortuary Passport” in the Convention text, drafted in Italian for the repatriation of a body from Italy abroad to a country that has acceded to the Berlin Convention. The necessary documentation must be submitted to the competent office together with the stamped request, signed by an official of the Funeral Agency.

The entry permit issued by the Italian Consular Authority of the foreign State to which the coffin is to be sent (the request is the responsibility of the Funeral Agency).

Certification from the competent LHA that the provisions of the house have been complied with, pursuant to Article 30 and 32 of Presidential Decree 285/90, and in the case of death due to infectious-contagious diseases the provisions of Article 18 and 25 of the same Presidential Decree are also applicable (provisions on transport and treatment).

In the event of violent death, authorization from the Judicial Authority is required for burial and transport of the body abroad.
For special situations, any documents required by the Ministry of Health
Burial authorization issued by the Civil Status Office of the Town Hall of the place of death
Extract for the summary of the death certificate
Death certificate,
Multilingual death certificate,
“Apostille” from the Prefecture for the multilingual death certificate
Declaration of closure of the coffin

The Berlin Convention does not apply to the transport of ash or fully mineralised remains. Application stamped at the Town Hall, signed by the person in charge of the Funeral Agency, to be forwarded to the Office which will authorize removal from the country. The request for authorization must contain the necessary information to be forwarded to the competent office of the Town Hall which will authorize removal from the country.

Multilingual death certificate

For the urn with ashes it is necessary to have a copy of the cremation Minutes

Authorization for transport outside the locality or abroad

For extradition, an authorization from the foreign Consular Authority in Italy of the country of destination is required

Repatriation of the body from countries that have not acceded to the Berlin Convention.

Documents required

“Mortuary Passport” issued by the competent authority of the Country/Locality where the death occurred and from which the coffin leaves.

Burial authorization issued by the competent foreign authority

Medical certificate showing the cause of death

Certificate issued by the health authority of the foreign country showing that the requirements for the coffin and embalming treatment imposed by Italian law have been complied with Summary extract of the death certificate

In the case of cremation to be carried out on Italian territory, it is necessary to obtain a declaration from the competent authority of the country of extradition that the death has been ascertained, by medical certification, that was not due to a crime in the foreign country where the death took place.

The Apostille is a special stamp of the competent authorities and consists of the certification of the legal status and authenticity of the public official who signed a document. In our specific case, it serves to validate a death document in connection with its international use. Most Western countries and states have streamlined the practice of legalization by signing The Hague Convention of 5 October 1961. Prior to this agreement, legalization of the document was done at the embassy of the State of destination.

Apostille is carried out at the Prefecture of the locality that issued the multilingual death certificate to be apostilled.
For the translation of Death Certificates, the apostille is a stamp which certifies the legal validity of the authorized translation and allows it to be presented abroad as a valid document. The apostille for the translation of a document must be obtained from the territorial Prefecture of jurisdiction or the Public Prosecutor’s Office near the competent Court.

For countries that have acceded to The Hague Convention, the Prefecture (or the Public Prosecutor’s Office) must apply the apostille.

For countries that have not acceded to The Hague Convention, legalization by the competent Prefecture (or the Public Prosecutor’s Office) is required.

Between Italy and Belgium, France, Ireland or Denmark, neither legalization nor apostille is required under the Brussels Convention of May 25, 1987.

Legalization of signatures is not required for documents issued by the following Embassies and/or Consulates adhering to the London Convention of June 7, 1968: Austria, Greece, Malta, Portugal, Sweden, Cyprus, Ireland, Norway, United Kingdom, Switzerland, France, Liechtenstein, The Netherlands, Czech Republic, Turkey, Germany, Luxembourg, Poland, Spain and Republic of Moldova.

Documents issued by a foreign authority must be legalized, unless an exemption from legalization is provided for on the basis of international conventions ratified by Italy.

Documentation for the repatriation of the body in a foreign language must be accompanied by an official translation into Italian.