'Traumatic': Couple forced to sit next to corpse for hours after passenger dies mid-flight
A couple shared a “traumatic” experience where they had to sit next to a dead body for four hours during their international flight.
Speaking with Australian news program A Current Affair, married pair Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin were onboard a Qatar Airways flight bound for Venice, Italy.
In the middle of the ride, a passenger exited the restroom and suddenly collapsed next to their row.
“They did everything they could, but unfortunately the lady couldn’t be saved, which was pretty heartbreaking to watch,” Ring said.
“They went to try and move her, they brought this chair down... and tried to wheel her up towards business class, but she was quite a large lady, and they couldn't get her through the aisle,” he added.
Ring recalled how the crew “looked a bit frustrated,” until they spotted an empty seat next to them.
“They just looked at me and saw seats were available beside me. My wife was on the other side, we were in a row of four," Ring said. “They said, ‘Can you move over please?’ and I just said, ‘Yes no problem.’ Then they placed the lady in the chair I was in.”
The couple recalled that they sat next to the corpse for the remaining four hours of their flight. They added they weren’t given an option to change seats for the rest of the ride even though there were a few spare seats in the other rows.
“We can’t hold the airlines responsible for the poor lady’s death, but surely after that, there has to be a protocol that looks after the customers on board,” Colin told the outlet.
Ring added that upon landing, they were told to stay in their seats as the ambulance officers checked the dead body.
“The ambulance officers started pulling the blankets off the lady beside me, I was there, I got to see her face, it wasn't nice,” Ring lamented.
“Traumatic, seriously,” Colin said. “I can't believe they told us to stay,” Ring added.
According to the couple, they haven't heard from the airline since.
“They have a duty of care towards their customers as well as their staff, we should be contacted to make sure—do you need some support, do you need some counseling?" Ring told A Current Affair. "I don't really know how I feel and would like to talk to somebody to make sure I'm alright."
In a statement sent to NBC News on Monday, Feb. 24, Qatar Airlines expressed their apologies for the incident and said they are working to get in touch with passengers about their policies and procedures.
"First and foremost, our thoughts are with the family of the passenger who sadly passed away on board our flight,” the company said.
“We apologize 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,” it added.
