‘It wasn’t nice’: Australian couple forced to sit beside dead body for 4 hours on Qatar Airways flight

Passenger dies mid-flight, couple forced to sit next to dead body for 4 hours

An Australian couple was left to sit beside the body of a deceased woman for four hours on a Qatar Airways flight from Melbourne to Doha.

Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin recounted the harrowing experience to Australian news programme ‘A Current Affair’, describing how the woman collapsed and died in front of them after using the restroom, approximately 10 hours into the flight.

Despite the flight crew’s best efforts to assist, they were unable to revive the woman.

Due to the woman’s size, the crew was unable to move her through the aisles or up to business class.

Seated nearby in a row with empty seats, Mr Ring and Ms Colin were asked to “move over” so that the deceased woman could be placed on Mr Ring’s seat, where her body was covered with blankets.

Flight crew makes couple remain in their seats

The couple was forced to stay in their seats for the remainder of their flight, sitting beside the body of the deceased passenger.

Source: A Current Affair on YouTube

The flight crew would not let them change seats and asked them to remain seated as medical staff addressed the body upon landing.

Qatar Airways allegedly did not offer any support afterward.

“I can’t believe they told us to stay . . . It wasn’t nice,” Mr Ring told ‘A Current Affair’.

Source: A Current Affair on YouTube

“They have a duty of care towards their customers as well as their staff,” he added, feeling that someone should have checked on their well-being after such a traumatic experience.

The couple, who were on vacation, expressed that they were “really trying to have a good time” despite the distressing ordeal, as Ms Colin shared.

Qatar Airways to reach out to couple

On Monday (24 Feb), Qatar Airways issued a statement addressing the incident, expressing condolences to the family of the deceased passenger.

The airline also apologised for the distress caused by the event and confirmed it is in the process of contacting affected passengers, in line with its policies and procedures.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), there are established protocols for flight crews to follow when encountering death, or a presumed death, onboard.

Trained cabin crew are instructed to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and continue until the person is presumed or declared dead.

Once confirmed, the body is moved to a seat away from passengers.

If the aircraft is full, the body will remain in the original seat to avoid blocking aisles and exits.

These procedures are part of a seven-step protocol that flight crews are required to follow in such situations.

Also read: Delta Air Lines pilot in US delays flight so passenger can see dying mum one last time

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Featured image adapted from Qatar Airways on Facebook and A Current Affair on YouTube.