‘I was really shocked’: Australian couple ‘traumatised’ after Qatar Airways made them sit next to dead body for 4 hours

“They asked, ‘Can you move over, please?’ and I simply replied, ‘Yes, no problem.’ Then they placed the deceased woman in the seat I was occupying,” Ring was quoted as saying by CNN.

The couple revealed that the cabin crew positioned the woman’s body covered in blankets beside Ring for the remaining four hours of the flight, without offering to relocate him, despite vacant seats being available. However, Colin was moved to an empty seat nearby. “I was really shocked,” Colin shared with Nine, describing the experience as “traumatic”.

“We completely understand that the airline isn’t responsible for the unfortunate lady’s death, but there should be a protocol in place to properly care for the passengers on board,” she said.

When the flight landed, passengers were instructed to remain seated while medical personnel and police boarded the plane. Qatar Airways issued an apology for “any inconvenience or distress this incident may have caused,” and stated they were in the process of reaching out to passengers, BBC reported.

However, the couple mentioned that neither Qatar Airways nor Qantas Airways, through which their tickets were booked, contacted them or offered any support. They expressed that airlines should establish a clear protocol to ensure passenger well-being in such situations.“The process for handling incidents onboard an aircraft like this is managed by the operating airline, which in this case is Qatar Airways,” Qantas Airways said in a statement, the CNN report said.