Qatar Airways has responded after a couple claimed they were left "traumatized" from being forced "to sit next to a dead body for hours" during a flight.
Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin were en route from Melbourne to Doha when a fellow passenger collapsed in the aisle beside them.
Despite the crew's best efforts to revive her, she tragically did not survive. “The staff were there in no time, and I pat them on the back, they did a wonderful job trying to revive her,” Ring told A Current Affair’s Ally Langdon, per News.com.au.
“It [happened] right beside me in the aisle, and they did everything they could, but unfortunately, the lady couldn’t be saved, which was pretty heartbreaking to watch,” he added.
According to Ring, the situation took an even more distressing turn when the flight crew placed the deceased passenger in a seat next to them - despite other empty seats being available.
Colin, visibly shaken while recounting the ordeal, described it as “traumatizing," adding: "I was really shocked...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.”
For the next four hours of their journey, the couple sat beside the deceased passenger, who was covered in a blanket, until they landed in Doha. Colin was eventually able to move to another seat across the aisle, but Ring remained next to the body.
Upon arrival, the pair was instructed to stay in their seats while paramedics removed the woman’s body, a moment that Ring described as deeply unsettling.
“They told us in our area to stay in our seats, and then the ambulance officers and the police came in, and then the ambulance officers started pulling the blankets off,” he said.
“I was there, and I got to see her face. Yeah, it wasn’t nice,” he admitted. “I can’t believe they told us to stay. I thought they would have got us out quickly and let the ambulance and the police in there with no other people in there. But they told us to sit down and wait.”
Following backlash over how the situation was handled, Qatar Airways has now addressed the incident.
In a statement to CNN, a spokesperson for the airline said their "thoughts are with the family members of the passenger who sadly passed away on-board a recent Qatar Airways flight from Melbourne, Australia."
The airline added that it had reached out to both the family of the deceased passenger and the affected travelers to address their concerns. "The safety and comfort of all our passengers is of paramount importance to us," they concluded.
Ring and Colin claimed they were not initially contacted by the airline after the incident and had expected Qatar Airways to offer counseling following their distressing experience.
Qantas Airways, which sold the couple’s tickets, also weighed in, clarifying that Qatar Airways was responsible for handling the situation.
"The process for handling incidents onboard an aircraft like this is managed by the operating airline, which in this case is Qatar Airways," Qantas said in a statement.
As for the couple, they are still trying to process the traumatic event. "I don't really know how I feel...I would like to speak to somebody to make sure I'm alright," Ring admitted.