Qantas forced into refund after disgusting passenger claim

A couple travelling on board a Qantas aircraft have taken aim at the airline, and demanded a full refund following a disturbing discovery.

A couple travelling on board a Qantas aircraft have hit out at the Australian airline, after claiming they sat in urine from a previous passenger throughout the duration of a nine-hour flight.

The couple, from Wellington, told the New Zealand Heraldthe incident occurred while on board flight QF24 from Bangkok to Sydney on December 30 last year.

Concerns first arose for the couple when they noticed some of their personal items including a neck pillow and a duty-free shopping bag — which they had placed on the floor — were wet when retrieved mid-flight.

A couple claim they sat in urine from another passenger while on board a plane.

Assuming the dampness was simply from some spilt water, the couple say they moved the bag into the overhead bin and dried off the neck pillow for use. A Qantas branded pillow they had been given on board the flight was also damp, which a Qantas flight attendant replaced.

However, the couple made the disturbing realisation that the dampness on their items was not from water at all, after discovering a pair of children's underwear under the seat.

One of the traveller’s said that the penny dropped upon discovery of the underwear, and as a result were forced to throw away $70 worth of items from the duty-free bag and a neck pillow.

“We have been sitting in urine for a 10-hour trip,” the traveller told New Zealand Herald.

“And the travel neck pillow, well, I had been using that for the last couple of hours, under the assumption it was just a bit wet from water.”

The couple, who wanted to remain anonymous, claim they were offered 10,000 Qantas points for the inconvenience from the cabin crew supervisor, however refused the compensation as it didn’t “make up” for the reality of “sitting in biohazard waste”.

The couple realised why their items, including a neck pillow that had been in use, were wet after being on the floor. Picture: istock

Instead, they took their complaints to the airline’s customer service department, demanding a full refund of the Bangkok to Sydney flight leg to the value of $3827.95.

The couple allege that because they used the ticket and completed the leg, Qantas initially pushed back on issuing a refund.

“We want refunded this leg of the flight at least,” the couple replied to the airline, adding they don’t plan on flying with Qantas again.

The couple acknowledged that while they understand Qantas staff were not directly responsible for the soiled seats, they are ultimately responsible if the airline’s contracted cleaners do not fulfil required duties properly.

It is understood that upon further review, Qantas issued a full refund to the couple “as a gesture of goodwill”.

In a statement to news.com.au, a spokesperson for Qantas said the incident is being investigated further however, cabin crew were only made aware of the customer’s concerns just prior to descent (approximately 8.5 hours into the flight).

“All our international aircraft are cleaned between each flight, including vacuuming seats and disinfecting surfaces,” the statement read.

“We are looking into what has occurred and have raised the issue with our cleaning supplier in Bangkok, which cleaned the aircraft prior to departure.

“We have apologised to the customer and will be providing a refund as a gesture of goodwill.”