Summary
A couple on a Qatar Airways flight from Melbourne to Doha was forced to sit next to a deceased passenger for four hours after she collapsed and died mid-flight.
The flight crew moved the woman’s body to an empty seat beside them and denied their request to change seats.
Qatar Airways apologized but did not offer the couple support after the incident.
The couple, en route to Venice, criticized the airline’s handling of the situation but are trying to continue their trip despite the distressing experience.
I guess?? In case of a medical emergency they would typically try to make an emergency landing (I hope??). So how did this person die, and how certain were they that they could not recessitate? Did it happen over sea or land? Honestly it raises a ton of questions.
It happened over the sea.
Its an international flight. I went to american public school so my geography is shit but Australia to Qatar has a lot of countries in between, all with their own visa and even safety requirements.
If it were an actual medical emergency where they (at the airline) felt an emergency landing (which would still be closer to hours away anyway) would make a difference AND they could safely land somewhere that was willing to isolate the passengers who aren’t legally authorized to be in country (also potential quarantine concerns)? They would.
Otherwise? You go to the nearest safe place to land which is often the destination anyway.
That is why you’ll see the occasional story about how a transatlantic flight got halfway across and then turned around because of a problem. And a friend who used to fly passenger flights from LAX to HND would always talk about the point of no return where any diversion is about as long as the flight itself anyway.
Flying from Melbourne to Doha is almost entirely over the ocean.
With 4 hours left in a 13h flight, they were probably near Sri Lanka but the Colombo airport is one of the busiest in South Asia, and as you say, it’s a huge hassle to divert.