Couple traumatised on Qatar Airways flight « Euro Weekly News
Qatar Airways plane. Credit: Pexels, Carlos Pernalete Tua
An Australian couple on a Qatar Airways flight from Melbourne to Doha were seated next to the body of a deceased passenger for four hours.
Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin were going on holiday to Venice when a woman collapsed in the aisle next to them. Speaking to Nine Network, (cited by CNN and BBC News), Mitchell recalled how the cabin crew attempted to revive her but were ultimately unsuccessful: “Unfortunately, the lady couldn’t be saved, which was pretty heartbreaking to watch.”
Qatar Airways cabin crew made a difficult decision
Following the passenger’s death, crew members attempted to move the woman to the business class section but were reportedly unable to manoeuvre her through the narrow aisle. Instead, they placed the body in Mitchell’s seat, asking him to shift to another spot.
“So, they looked a bit frustrated and then they just looked at me and saw seats were available beside me… and they just said to me, can you move over please? And I just said, ‘yes, no problem,’ and then they placed the lady in the chair that I was in.”
Jennifer, meanwhile, was offered an empty seat across the aisle. “I was really shocked,” she said, describing the experience as “traumatic.”
Lack of support from Qatar Airways and Qantas after their traumatic experience sitting next to a corpse
The couple also criticised Qatar Airways and Qantas, through whom they booked their flight, for failing to reach out in the aftermath of the incident. “We totally understand that we can’t hold the airline responsible for the poor lady’s death, but there has to be a protocol then to look after the customers that are on board,” said Jennifer. Mitchell added that he was expecting the airline to offer counselling after the incident.
“I can’t believe they told us to stay,” he said, explaining that he was still in his seat when ambulance officers removed the blanket uncovering the dead woman’s face.
Qatar Airways responds to the dead body incident
Qatar Airways later issued a statement expressing condolences to the deceased passenger’s family. “First and foremost, our thoughts are with the family of the passenger who sadly passed away on board our flight. We apologise for any inconvenience or distress this incident may have caused, and are in the process of contacting passengers in line with our policies and procedures.”
A Qantas spokesperson tried shifting the blame and said: “The process for handling incidents onboard an aircraft like this is managed by the operating airline, which in this case is Qatar Airways.”
How would you feel if this happened to you during a flight? Would you expect more aftercare? Let us know in the comments below.
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