An airline passenger shared his shock after being seated next to the body of a fellow traveler who died during a flight. Mitchell Ring and his partner Jennifer Colin were traveling on a Qatar Airways flight from Melbourne to Doha, heading to Venice for a vacation, when a woman collapsed in the aisle beside them. Ring described watching the cabin crew attempt to revive the woman, but unfortunately, she could not be saved.
The crew then tried to move the body toward the business class section, but struggled with the narrow aisle. According to Ring, the crew appeared frustrated and, seeing empty seats nearby, asked him to move over. He agreed, and the body was placed in his seat. Ring spent the remaining four hours of the flight sitting next to the deceased woman, despite other empty seats on the plane. Colin was offered a seat across the aisle where she remained for the rest of the flight.
Colin called the experience “traumatic,” although she noted that they didn’t blame the airline for the woman’s death. She added that there should be a protocol to handle such situations to ensure passengers’ comfort.
After landing, passengers in that section of the plane were told to stay seated until ambulance and police personnel arrived to remove the body.
Mitchell Ring expressed his disbelief after being told to stay in his seat as ambulance officers removed the body of the deceased passenger from the flight. He was present when the officers pulled the blanket off the woman. Ring and his partner, Jennifer Colin, said the airline did not contact them immediately after the incident, noting that they believe the airline has a “duty of care” toward its passengers. Ring also expected the airline to offer counseling support.
Qantas Airways, which the couple used to book their tickets, confirmed that they had been in touch with Colin and had followed up with Qatar Airways. Qantas stated that handling such incidents onboard is the responsibility of the operating airline, which in this case was Qatar Airways.
The couple is still processing the traumatic experience. Ring admitted he wasn’t sure how to feel about what happened and expressed a desire to speak with someone to ensure he was okay.
