Qatar Airways recently faced scrutiny following an incident involving a deceased passenger on a Melbourne to Doha flight. An internal review by the airline concluded that the crew "acted quickly, appropriately and professionally" when a passenger died mid-flight. Despite the airline's findings, the handling of the situation left an Australian couple, Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin, traumatized by their experience.
The incident unfolded during a 14-hour flight when a woman passed away and was placed next to Ring and Colin for the last four hours of the journey. The couple, who were traveling to Venice for a holiday, reported that the cabin crew covered the woman's body with blankets. However, they were not offered alternative seating, despite vacant seats being available.
According to guidelines by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), crew members should move a deceased passenger to a seat with few other passengers nearby and cover them with a blanket or body bag up to the neck. Qatar Airways stated that the crew's actions were "in line with training and industry standard practice."
"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." – Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways extended apologies for "any inconvenience or distress" caused by the incident. The airline also commented on the challenges faced by the crew when moving the woman's body through the aisle because she was "quite a large lady." Despite these difficulties, Qatar Airways maintained that their procedures were appropriate.
"It is an unfortunate reality that unexpected deaths do sometimes occur on board aircraft across the aviation industry and our crew are highly trained to deal with these situations with as much respect and dignity as possible." – Qatar Airways
The couple shared their distressing experience on Australia's Channel Nine, prompting Qatar Airways to issue a statement to the BBC. Jennifer Colin expressed frustration over the handling of the situation, noting that while they understood they couldn't blame the airline for the woman's death, there should have been better protocols in place for managing such incidents.
"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." – Jennifer Colin
Mitchell Ring echoed similar sentiments, expressing disbelief over being told to remain seated during the ordeal.
"I can't believe they told us to stay," – Mitchell Ring
Adding to the controversy, Barry Eustance, a former Virgin Atlantic captain, remarked that in his experience, the handling of this situation did not align with standard practice. Despite these criticisms, Qatar Airways stood by their crew's actions as appropriate and within industry norms.