Topics: Travel, Australia, World News
During a long-haul flight lasting more than 14 hours, tragedy struck that led to the death of a passenger, and with nowhere to store her corpse, she was placed in a seat beside a nervous-flyer.
Jennifer Colin and her partner Mitchell Ring were en route to Venice, Italy, from their hometown of Melbourne, Australia, but their dream trip soon turned nightmarish as a woman walking out of the bathroom located near their seats collapsed.
"Unfortunately the lady couldn't be saved, which was pretty heartbreaking to watch," a traumatized Ring explained to Australian TV outlet 9Now.
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"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.
"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'."
Adding: "Then they placed the lady in the chair I was in."
It was only the first leg of their 20-hour journey to the romantic Italian city, with their ordeal finally ending when touching down in Doha, Qatar, but by then the passenger's lifeless body was imprinted in their minds.
Ring claimed that cabin crew onboard Qatar Airways offered no support following the tragedy, and while inflight they also stated that they were never offered to move seats despite their being several vacant around where they were sat.
In the end, Colin finally moved from her seat after a passenger behind them offered a spare seat up to her, while her partner was forced to spend the remainder of the trip on the same row as the corpse.
Ring even claimed that he was told to stay seated as paramedics rushed onto the plane when it landed and took off the blankets that were covering the deceased flyer.
"I can't believe they told us to stay … it wasn't nice," he added.
"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 counselling.
"I don't really know how I feel and would like to speak to somebody to make sure I'm alright."
Responding to the allegations, a spokesperson for Qatar Airways told the outlet: "First and foremost, our thoughts are with the family of the passenger who sadly passed away on board our flight.
"We apologise 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."
UNILAD has contacted Qatar Airways for further comment.
