Summary
A couple on a Qatar Airways flight from Melbourne to Doha was forced to sit next to a deceased passenger for four hours after she collapsed and died mid-flight.
The flight crew moved the woman’s body to an empty seat beside them and denied their request to change seats.
Qatar Airways apologized but did not offer the couple support after the incident.
The couple, en route to Venice, criticized the airline’s handling of the situation but are trying to continue their trip despite the distressing experience.
If the flight wasn’t full and they didn’t allow them to move seats that’s extremely messed up.
Technically, there was at least 1 free seat since the woman wasn’t using it anymore.
But that begs the question, assuming the entire plane was full then the lady was sitting next to at least one other person. They moved her from that seat to be in next to the couple in question. So it seems to me there is no situation where it’s not extremely messed up.
Yeah the only thing I could think of was that maybe the couple didn’t want to split up and there was only 1 other free seat.
But I think we’ll just learn that the airline was being incompetent.
Honestly they could’ve secured the body to one of the flight staff seats. If there’s no extra, the flight attendant could sit next to a passenger.
That’s a good point. Wonder why they didn’t just do that?
Cause flight crew are seated next to emergency exits for a reason. Safety > inconvenience
Most of the planes I’ve been on had at least some crew seats tucked into the back and out of the way of the primary exits if I am remembering correctly. There probably is a good reason, such as tripping hazards for the crew doing their work or the seats not really being effective for long term seating and keeping the body in place (I’m thinking of the fold down crew seats).
Even if it was full they should have found an alternate method of securing the body. They’re already dead, they don’t need a seat.
I think the problem likely comes down to safety and respect for the dead.
Put the body in the back galley and suddenly the plane hits rough turbulence and that body is now a +100 pound projectile.
Putting the body in a bathroom seems better, but that turbulence hits and now the body is flying around in there during the rough turbulence, and then the next day the media is lambasting the air line for desecrating the body or whatever.
Then not having an alternate plan in place is on the airline, if there was nothing else the crew could do.
I think it’s more the nature of modern air craft. There isn’t much spare room and space is extremely expensive on planes. Meanwhile, these deaths rarely occur.
There’s probably some way to design a system to secure a body in the bathroom, however, and I broadly agree with you that they should have some type of solution.
I think that’s probably too morbid if they have a death seat designed into airplanes.
Besides, what if two passengers die on the plane?
I imagine any solution they come up with will be out of sight until it’s needed and you could equip multiple bathrooms or whatever space. Although two people dying like this is probably astronomically rare.