An international flight can bring unexpected surprises, but for one Australian couple, their journey turned into an ordeal they never imagined.
While traveling from Melbourne to Doha on a Qatar Airways flight, Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin were confronted with a tragic and unsettling situation—one that left them shocked and searching for answers.
Midway through their long-haul flight, a fellow passenger suddenly collapsed in the aisle and, despite the best efforts of the cabin crew, passed away.
What followed was a series of decisions by the airline that placed Mitchell and Jennifer in an uncomfortable and distressing position. Instead of relocating them to available seats, the crew placed the deceased passenger in the seat next to them, leaving Mitchell seated beside the covered body for the remainder of the flight.
The couple, still processing the event, spoke out about their experience, highlighting concerns over how airlines handle such incidents and what protocols should be in place to prevent similar situations in the future.
The Crew’s Shocking Decision
Dealing with a death mid-flight is no easy task, and airlines have their own protocols for handling such situations.
But what happened next left Mitchell and Jennifer completely stunned.
The crew first attempted to move the woman’s body to business class, presumably because there was more space and privacy.
However, because of the narrow aisles and the woman’s size, they couldn’t maneuver her through the cabin.
So, the crew made a decision that would haunt Mitchell and Jennifer for the rest of their flight.
Instead of finding another solution, they placed the deceased woman in a vacant seat—right next to Mitchell.
“They said, ‘Can you move over, please?’ and I just said, ‘Yes, no problem,’” Mitchell recalled in an interview with A Current Affair.
“Then they placed the lady in the chair I was in.”
Four Hours Next to a Corpse
For the next four hours, Mitchell remained seated next to the deceased passenger, covered with a blanket. Jennifer, who was understandably shaken, was offered a seat elsewhere by another passenger, but Mitchell was given no such option.
“There were a few spare seats I could see around us. I can’t believe they told us to stay,” Mitchell said.
As if sitting next to a dead body for hours wasn’t disturbing enough, things took an even darker turn when the plane finally landed in Doha.
Passengers in their section were told to remain seated as medical and law enforcement personnel came aboard. Then, to Mitchell’s horror, flight attendants removed the blanket covering the woman’s face, exposing her to him and others nearby.
No Support from Qatar Airways
After enduring such a traumatic experience, the couple expected some kind of acknowledgment or support from the airline. Instead, they heard nothing.
No check-in, no apology, no offer of counseling—just silence.
“They have a duty of care towards their customers as well as their staff,” Mitchell said. “We should be contacted to make sure—do you need some support, do you need some counseling?”
Qantas, the Australian airline through which the couple booked their tickets, released a statement confirming they were aware of the incident and had reached out to Qatar Airways.
However, Qatar Airways took several days before issuing a public response.
When they finally did, it was a standard corporate statement:
“First and foremost, our thoughts are with the family members of the passenger who sadly passed away on board our flight. We apologize 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.”
Was This Handled Correctly?
While deaths on flights are rare, they do happen, and airlines are expected to have a plan in place for such emergencies.
According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), deceased passengers should be moved to a seat “with few other passengers nearby” and should be covered with a body bag or blanket.
But in this case, placing the body next to a living passenger without giving him an option to move seems like a major oversight.
Even though Jennifer was able to move, Mitchell was stuck in a situation that no one should have to endure, especially on an already long-haul flight.
Some airlines, like Singapore Airlines, have previously equipped their planes with special compartments for storing deceased passengers during long-haul flights, sometimes referred to as a “corpse cupboard.”
While most airlines don’t have such features, there must be a better solution than forcing someone to sit next to a deceased stranger for hours.
A Flight They’ll Never Forget
Now, weeks later, Mitchell and Jennifer are still trying to process what happened. Speaking from their vacation in Venice, Jennifer described the experience as “traumatic” but said they were doing their best to enjoy their time in Italy.
“I’m trying to make the best of a pretty hard situation, but, you know, we’re on holiday, so we’re really trying to have a good time,” she said.
Meanwhile, Qatar Airways still hasn’t offered them any real support or direct contact beyond their initial statement.
The Bottom Line
What should have been an exciting start to a dream trip turned into a nightmare that Mitchell and Jennifer will never forget.
While Qatar Airways didn’t cause the tragic death of the passenger, the way they handled the situation left much to be desired.
Mitchell and Jennifer deserved the option to move seats and at the very least, post-flight counseling or support from the airline. Instead, they were ignored.
This raises serious questions about how airlines handle sensitive situations like this. There are better ways to manage mid-flight deaths that don’t involve traumatizing other passengers.
So, what do you think? Should airlines have mandatory policies in place for situations like this? Could Qatar Airways have handled this better?
