An Australian couple said they were forced to sit next to a passenger’s body who died on a recent Qatar Airways long-haul flight.
Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin were en route from Melbourne, Australia, to Doha, Qatar, when the unidentified female passenger suffered a medical emergency in the aisle during through the long-haul Qatar Airways flight, “A Current Affair” reported.
“They did everything they could, but unfortunately the lady couldn’t be saved, which was pretty heartbreaking to watch,” Ring said.
According to the couple, the crew attempted to take the woman away in a wheelchair but were unable to get her through the aisle because of her size. Ring said the crew noticed that he and his wife were alone in a row of four seats, so they put the woman’s body – covered in blankets – in an empty seat near them for the remaining four hours of the flight.
Qatar Airways is defending the decision to leave a husband and wife sitting next to a dead passenger on a 15-hour flight, insisting Friday that its crew “acted quickly, appropriately and professionally.”
The airline also claimed that passengers were accommodated to other seats and that a crew member sat beside the couple and the deceased passenger until the plane landed in Doha.
“We have been in direct contact with the family of the deceased as well as other passengers who were directly affected by this difficult situation and have offered emotional support and compensation,” the statement said.
