An Australian couple, Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin, were flying to Venice on what they thought would be their dream trip. However, an unfortunate incident happened on board when a woman passenger sadly died mid-air. Qatar Airways crew members then put the dead passenger's body right next to the couple for the remainder of the flight.
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According to A Current Affair, the woman suddenly collapsed in the plane's aisle after she left the bathroom. The flight's crew attempted to revive her, to no avail.
"Unfortunately the lady couldn't be saved, which was pretty heartbreaking to watch," Ring told the outlet. "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."
Once the crew was unable to transport the woman's body to business class, described as frustrated by Ring, the crew rapidly noticed the empty seats next to the couple. They approached Ring and Colin with a request that caught them off guard.
"They said, 'Can you move over please?' and I just said, 'Yes no problem,'" Ring said. "Then they placed the lady in the chair I was in."
Traumatic Experience
For the remaining hours of the flight, Mitchell Ring remained seated next to the woman's dead body. Crew members covered her with blankets. Jennifer Colin, meanwhile, was offered a seat on the row behind them by another passenger. The crew, according to the couple, didn't offer different seats to accommodate them whatsoever.
Moreover, once the plane landed, they uncovered the woman's body so that medical personnel could take the body. However, crew members instructed the couple to remain seated next to the now uncovered body. "I can't believe they told us to stay ... it wasn't nice," Ring said. Since the incident, Qatar Airways has not provided any support for the couple, according to Ring and Colin.
"I don't really know how I feel and would like to speak to somebody to make sure I'm alright," Ring said. Colin added: "I'm trying to make the best of a pretty hard situation, but, you know, we're on holidays so we're really trying to have a good time."
Since the outlet reported on the incident, a Qatar Airways spokesperson shared a statement with them.
"First and foremost our thoughts are with the family of the passenger who sadly passed away on board our flight," the spokesperson 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."
