A long-haul flight took an unexpected and unsettling turn for a married couple who found themselves seated next to a deceased passenger for several hours.
Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin had boarded a Qatar Airways flight from Melbourne, Australia, to Doha, Qatar, expecting an ordinary journey. However, partway through the 15-hour flight, an elderly woman nearby experienced a medical emergency. Despite efforts to assist her, she tragically did not survive.
“Unfortunately, the lady couldn’t be saved, which was pretty heartbreaking to watch,” Ring shared in an interview with A Current Affair.
Following the incident, airline staff attempted to move the deceased passenger towards the business class section. However, due to spatial limitations in the narrow aisles, relocating her proved difficult.
“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,” Ring recalled.
Faced with limited options, flight attendants made a swift decision to seat the woman’s body next to Ring.
“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, and we were in a row of four,” he explained. “They said, ‘Can you move over please?’ and I just said, ‘Yes, no problem.’”
With no alternative seating arrangements offered, the couple was left sitting beside the blanket-covered body for approximately four hours. Although vacant seats had been visible, no effort was made to relocate them.
Once the plane landed, further distress awaited them. Rather than being allowed to disembark with the other passengers, they were asked to remain seated while medical personnel removed the deceased woman from the aircraft.
Following the experience, neither Ring nor Colin received any immediate outreach from the airline regarding emotional support or counseling.
“I don’t really know how I feel and would like to speak to somebody to make sure I’m alright,” Ring admitted. The harrowing ordeal left him seeking reassurance that he had processed the event properly.
In response to the incident, Qatar Airways later issued a statement acknowledging the situation and extending condolences to the woman’s family.
“First and foremost, our thoughts are with the family of the passenger who sadly passed away on board our flight,” a spokesperson for the airline stated. “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.”
While unexpected events can occur during flights, passengers hope for compassionate and organized responses from airlines in such challenging situations. For Ring and Colin, the memory of this unsettling journey is unlikely to fade anytime soon.
