Melbourne couple shaken after flight crew sat them next to dead passenger

An Aussie couple say they have been left “traumatised” after they had to spend hours on a plane sitting next to the body of a passenger who had died.

A Melbourne couple has recounted their distress after they said they had to sit next to the body of a passenger who had died midflight, despite there being other empty seats available.

Mitch and Jenny were flying from Melbourne to Doha on Qatar Airways, when a woman collapsed in the aisle beside them and could not be revived.

“The staff were there in no time, and I pat them on the back, they did a wonderful job trying to revive her,” Mitch told A Current Affair’s Ally Langdon on Monday.

“It [happened] right beside me in the aisle, and they did everything they could, but unfortunately, the lady couldn’t be saved, which was pretty heartbreaking to watch.”

Airline staff brought in a two-wheeled chair to try and move the deceased passenger to business class, but they were unable to, according to Mitch.

“They looked a bit frustrated and then they just looked at me and saw seats were available beside me – my wife was on the other side, we’re in a row of four by ourselves – and they just said to me, ‘Can you move over, please?’, and I just said, ‘Yes, no problem,’ and then they placed the lady in the chair that I was in.”

Melbourne couple Mitch and Jenny say they are traumatised after they were forced to sit next to the body of a passenger who had passed away midflight. Picture: Channel 9/A Current Affair

On the verge of tears during the interview, Mitch’s wife Jenny described the whole experience as “traumatising” and said she moved herself to another seat when a passenger in a different row offered her the empty seat beside them.

The International Air Transport Association’s protocol suggests that a person who has died midflight should be moved to a seat in an empty row, or if the flight is fully booked, returned to their assigned seat. The deceased is covered with a blanket as a mark of dignity and respect.

Mitch and Jenny claim that although there were other empty seats on their flight, the crew did not offer to relocate them to another seat for the four remaining hours of their journey.

The experience was made more distressing when emergency services boarded the aircraft upon landing and the blankets that had been covering the deceased passenger’s body were removed before the cabin had been cleared of all other passengers.

Qatar Airways is investigating the matter.

“They told us in our area to stay in our seats, and then the ambulance officers and the police came in, and then the ambulance officers started pulling the blankets off,” Mitch recounted.

“I was there and I got to see her face. Yeah, it wasn’t nice,” he said, “I can’t believe they told us to stay. I thought they would have got us out quickly and let the ambulance and the police in there with no other people in there. But they told us to sit down and wait.”

Qatar Airways is investigating the matter.

A spokesperson for Qatar Airways issued a statement to news.com.au this afternoon.

“First and foremost our thoughts are with the family of the passenger who sadly passed away on board our flight,” the statement read.

“We apologise for any inconvenience or distress this incident may have caused, and are in the process of contacting passengers in line with our policies and procedures.”