A married couple said they were forced to sit next to a dead woman's body for four hours on a flight from Australia to Qatar.
Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin were on a Qatar Airways flight from Melbourne to Doha, the Qatari capital, last week. About 10 hours into the flight, a woman exited the restroom, collapsed and died in front of them, the couple told Australian news program “A Current Affair” on Sunday.
“They did everything they could, but unfortunately the lady couldn’t be saved, which was pretty heartbreaking to watch,” Ring said.
Ring said the flight crew then put the woman's body in an empty seat next to the couple for the remaining four hours of the flight.
“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," 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.”
Qatar Airways, which is owned by the Qatari government, said in a statement to NBC News on Monday, "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 statement said.
The couple said the flight crew would not let them change seats for the remainder of the flight and asked them to remain seated as medical staff addressed the body upon landing. They added that they were not offered any support by Qatar Airlines after the fact.
“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.
The couple's final destination was Venice, Italy. They said they're still trying to salvage their trip.
“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,” Colin said.
Jay Blackman contributed.
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