An Australian couple says they were traumatized after Qatar Airways forced them to sit next to a corpse for hours on a long-haul flight last week.
Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin were on a plane headed from Melbourne, Australia to Doha, Qatar, when a passenger died mid-flight.
“Unfortunately the lady couldn’t be saved, which was pretty heartbreaking to watch,” Ring told Australia’s Channel 9.
The two were shocked when flight attendants decided to put the body right next to Ring.
“They 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 said. “They looked a bit frustrated, then 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.”
“They said, ‘Can you move over please?’ and I just said, ‘Yes no problem,” Ring explained. “Then they placed the lady in the chair I was in.”
Colin, who was crying during her interview with the news channel, said “I’m not a great flyer at the best of times.” She was able to move to a different row, but Ring was told to stay put.
He also had to remain in his seat after landing as the paramedics recovered the body and removed it from the plane.
“I can’t believe they told us to stay,” Ring said. “It wasn’t nice.”
The couple eventually made their connecting flight to Italy, where they said they are trying to still have a nice vacation. They told Channel 9 they haven’t been offered any support from the airline.
“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 said. “I don’t really know how I feel and would like to speak to somebody to make sure I’m alright.”
In a statement to Channel 9, Qatar Airways said: “First and foremost our thoughts are with the family of the passenger who sadly passed away on board our flight.”
“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,” the airline added.