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Journalism of Courage
Passengers aboard a Qatar Airways flight recently suffered a terrible ordeal after the Boeing 777 stayed on the tarmac for three hours, without air conditioning, amid heatwave conditions in Athens, Greece.
A video of the incident that took place on June 10 was shared by @mothershipsg on Instagram with the caption, “hope everyone’s okay.”
“Passengers were dehydrating and passing out on the plane,” Garth Collins, a passenger on the same flight, told CNN. In one video, a passenger is seen stripping off his shirt, sweat glistening on his chest, while others desperately fan themselves with safety packets and pace the aisles in a bid to stay cool.
The passengers were eventually allowed to disembark and return to the air-conditioned comfort of Athens International Airport but allegedly received no communication from the airline. The lack of information compounded the passengers’ frustration, especially for those with connecting flights in Doha. Only one Qatar Airways representative was allegedly available to assist the distressed passengers, reports said.
The CNN report also mentions how Collins criticized the airline’s response, noting that after the “enforced sauna” on the plane, the meagre provision of “a cup of water and a small soft drink” was grossly inadequate.
In a video shared on Instagram, passengers appeared visibly uncomfortable. Many were seen fanning themselves, and some had even removed their shirts due to the intense heat.
Watch the video here:
Another clip focused on a man identified as Damian Collins, a martial artist and personal trainer. The caption accompanying the post read, “3.5 hours with the doors closed, no air cooling, and zero sustenance. People were passing out, and panic ensued. Damian is a fit, conditioned athlete, imagine the stress and danger for any normal individual.”
The flight finally arrived in Doha nearly 16 hours behind schedule.
Qatar Airways apologised for the “technical issue”. A spokesperson conveyed to several media outlets, “Qatar Airways sincerely apologizes for the delay to passengers traveling on flight QR204 from Athens (ATH) to Doha (DOH) on Monday, 10 June 2024, which was due to a technical issue.”
Reacting to the Instagram post, one user said, “Incompetence of the fight and ground crew. Why aren’t passengers allowed to disembark?” Another said, “idk why people are blaming the airline rather than the plane, Boeing has so many problems this year already.” And a third user asked, “Was it impossible to suddenly disembark passengers to the terminal?”
On June 5, shortly after departing from Toronto Pearson International Airport, a Boeing 777 experienced an engine fire, a harrowing incident captured on video and shared by @fl360aero on X. The pilots turned the aircraft around and executed an emergency landing without incident.
