Qatar Airways crew dealt ‘professionally’ with body of dead woman on flight
Published: 2 March 2025
Doha, Agencies: Qatar Airways said its crew handled the body of a woman who died during a flight from Melbourne to Doha in a pro fessional manner, after a couple said they were forced to sit next to the body, reports say.
The passenger collapsed in the aisle next to Australian passengers Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin’s row after going to the toilet, and could not be revived. The deceased woman was then moved to a seat next to Ring and covered in blankets, he told the Australian network Nine News.
Ring said he was seated with the body for around four hours despite there being other empty seats available. The National daily in Abu Dhabi reported that the airline said in a statement that the crew’s handling of the woman’s death was “in line with training and industry standard practice”. “After an internal review, it is clear that Qatar Airways cabin crew acted quickly, appropriately and professionally at all times,” it said, according to the report. “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,” said the statement.
Qatar Airways said they have been in contact with the family of the deceased and other passen gers who were directly impacted by the situation. They have been “offered emotional support and compensation.” “It is an unfortunate reality that unexpected deaths do some times 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.
At Qatar Airways we deeply sympathise with all those involved in this sad situation, and our thoughts remain with the family members of the pas senger who passed away on board our flight,” said the statement. Earlier in the week, the air line issued an apology for “any inconvenience or distress this incident may have caused”. The Australian couple said they were en route to their “dream trip” to Venice when the incident oc curred. Ring was asked by the crew to move over so they could place the woman in the seat he was in, he said. A passenger offered Ms Colin a seat beside her across the aisle
