Qatar Airways has stated that its crew acted “quickly, appropriately and professionally” when handling the death of a passenger on a Melbourne-to-Doha flight. The airline’s statement follows reports from an Australian couple who were seated next to the deceased woman for the last four hours of the journey, reported BBC.
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The airline conducted an internal review and confirmed that the crew’s response was “in line with training and industry standard practice.”
Passenger accounts and airline response
Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin, who were traveling to Venice for a holiday, described their experience as “traumatizing” in an interview with Australia’s Channel Nine. According to Ring, the cabin crew struggled to move the deceased woman, citing difficulties due to her size.
Eventually, the crew placed her in Ring’s seat and covered her with blankets. While Colin was invited to sit elsewhere by another passenger, Ring said the crew did not offer him an alternative seat, despite vacant spots being available.
Qatar Airways responded, stating that “passengers were accommodated to other seats, and a crew member was sitting at all times with the deceased passenger for the duration of the flight until landing in Doha.” The airline added that it has offered support and compensation to both the family of the deceased and other passengers who were “directly affected” by the incident.
Qatar Airways apologised for “any inconvenience or distress this incident may have caused,” reported BBC.
Debate over in-flight death protocols
The incident has reignited discussions about airline procedures for handling deaths mid-flight.
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Barry Eustance, a former Virgin Atlantic captain, told the BBC that, in his experience, “the crew would normally try to isolate the body, so there is no passenger exposure to the body and vice versa, for respect and privacy but also for medical reasons.”
Guidelines from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) state that the deceased should be moved to a seat with fewer surrounding passengers and covered with a blanket or body bag up to the neck. If feasible, the body should be placed in an area that does not obstruct aisles or exits. Upon landing, IATA recommends that all passengers disembark before the body is attended to by authorities.
Passenger reactions to post-landing procedures
Ring recalled that after landing, passengers were instructed to remain seated while medical staff and police boarded the plane. Ambulance officers then removed the blankets from the deceased, exposing her face. “I can’t believe they told us to stay,” he said, expressing surprise that passengers were not allowed to leave before medical personnel arrived.
Colin stated in the televised interview with Channel 9, “We totally understand that we can’t hold the airline responsible for the poor lady’s death, but surely after that, there has to be a protocol to look after the customers on board.”
(With inputs from BBC)
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