A married couple was forced to sit next to a dead woman on their 15-hour flight.
No, you didn’t read that wrong. Two passengers—Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin—were onboard a Qatar Airways flight from Melbourne, Australia, to Doha, Qatar, when airline staff placed a deceased female passenger next to them. Apparently, the woman had suffered a medical emergency and died during the flight.
“Unfortunately the lady couldn’t be saved, which was pretty heartbreaking to watch,” Ring told A Current Affai. “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, and we were in a row of four,” he continued. “They said, ‘Can you move over please?’ and I just said, ‘Yes no problem.’”
That’s when they placed the woman’s body in Ring’s chair—without offering him and his wife other seats, even though “there were a few spare seats I could see around us,” Ring said. He was basically forced to spend four hours next to the blanket-covered corpse.
Couple Forced to Sit Next to Dead Woman on 15-Hour Flight
What’s more? Once they landed, airline staff asked the two to remain seated as medical personnel retrieved the body.
So far, according to Ring, no one has reached out or asked whether the couple needed support or counseling after the traumatizing experience.
“I don’t really know how I feel and would like to speak to somebody to make sure I’m alright,” he told the TV outlet.
As for the airline, well, it released a statement about the matter and explained it would be contacting Ring and Colin.
“First and foremost our thoughts are with the family of the passenger who sadly passed away on board our flight,” A Qatar Airways spokesperson said. “We apologize 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.”
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