The passenger who died aboard one of its flights from New York to Nairobi was a dual citizen of United States and Kenya.
Authorities identified him as Peterson Njuguna Mwangi, 66.
He is said to have developed breathing difficulties seven hours after the plane had taken off from New York before he died. A family spokesman said he had a history of diabetes.
The KQ plane was supposed to arrive at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport at 10:32am on Monday, but due to the incident and consequent rerouting, it touched down in Nairobi a few minutes past 7pm, officials said.
Many people had by then been waiting at the airport to receive their loved ones. But they were informed of the incident.
The plane officials had tried to administer first aid on the deceased but the situation worsened forcing the pilots to make an emergency landing at Casablanca, Morocco.
The man’s family arrived at the airport and took his body to the Montezuma Monalisa Funeral Home.
An autopsy was planned on the body to establish the cause of the death, officials said.
The carrier said that the medical emergency had forced its pilots to divert the plane to Casablanca, Morocco.
"We convey our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased," KQ said in a statement on Tuesday. "We sincerely apologise to our other guests for the inconvenience," the carrier added.
The incident happened on Monday August 22 aboard flight KQ003. KQ said Moroccan medical personnel tried to help but found that the passenger was already unresponsive.
The man’s family was informed of the incident and was at the airport to collect his body.
