Qatar Airways is defending the actions of its crew after two passengers complained when they were forced to sit next to another passenger’s dead body for four hours on their flight from Melbourne to Doha, Qatar.
Passengers Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin spoke out earlier this week after claiming that a fellow passenger on their Qatar Airways flight collapsed and died suddenly. But what happened next was even more unsettling for the couple, who were heading on vacation to Italy.
“They said, ‘Can you move over please?’ and I just said, ‘Yes, no problem,’ ” Ring recalled to the Australian news program A Current Affair. “Then they placed the lady in the chair I was in.”
Ring and Colin claimed they were told not to move seats and instead forced to sit next to the woman’s body, which was covered by a blanket, for the remaining four hours of their flight.
Qatar Airways released a statement on Friday, Feb. 28 to PEOPLE, saying that the actions of the crew 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,” its statement added.
The airlines said that its staff is equipped to handle the “unfortunate reality” of unexpected deaths on board long flights “with as much respect and dignity as possible.”
Contradicting Ring and Colin’s claims, Qatar Airways also said that they have offered support and compensation to the family of the deceased passenger as well as other passengers who were “directly affected” by the incident.
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But Ring and Colin previously claimed that was not the case.
“They have a duty of care towards their customers as well as their staff, we should be contacted to make sure — do you need some support, do you need some counseling?” Ring told A Current Affair. “I don’t really know how I feel and would like to speak to somebody to make sure I’m alright.”
In a previous statement, a Qatar Airways spokesperson told multiple outlets, including news.com.au, “First and foremost our thoughts are with the family of the passenger who sadly passed away on board our flight.”
“We apologize for any inconvenience or distress this incident may have caused,” the Qatar spokesperson added, “and are in the process of contacting passengers in line with our policies and procedures.”
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