this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2025
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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.

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[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 163 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (16 children)

Poll:

Would you rather sit next to a dead person or a crying baby for 4 hours on a plane?

Personally, I'd take the dead person.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 142 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Keep in mind, dead people evacuate their bowels. It's not a mummy type situation, but more of a sitting next to an open, used by concert goers, porta potty situation.

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 41 points 1 week ago (1 children)

So do babies. At least the dead person just stinks and isn't also screaming.

[–] pelespirit@sh.itjust.works 61 points 1 week ago (2 children)
[–] ShepherdPie@midwest.social 18 points 1 week ago

Plus they're easily cleaned and changed.

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[–] FauxPseudo@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I have bad news for you about babies. And many people make sure to fully evacuate before a flight because they will do anything to avoid that bathroom.

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[–] Thorry84@feddit.nl 30 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (3 children)

A baby is annoying, but they can't really help it. I can blame the parents for bringing a baby on a long flight, but I can't get mad at that shit.

Kids on the other hand. I once had 4 unruly kids sitting on the row behind me and they were insane. It was a relatively short flight (6 hours), so a smaller plane with those really thin seats. The plane had the 3-3 configuration of seats, so mom, dad and the 4 kids took up the entire row.

The kids were between 4 and 12 years old. Dad was in the corner sleeping, not giving a fuck. The two older kids (12 and 9 I think) were playing their Switches on the other side of the aisle next to dad. The two younger kids (4 and 7) were behind me with mom. Mom was in the corner with the smallest kid and they were wild. The 7 year old was constantly smashing against their tray and thus my back, kept kicking directly against my back and screaming all the time. The smallest alternated between laughing loudly and crying (shrieking more like). The smallest also stood on the tray, grabbing at my seat and head, diving in between the seat screaming PEEKABOO at full volume directly in my ear. The smallest one would also like to run in the aisle or visit the other kids, but the other one didn't want to move so the kid snuck in between the other one and my seat.

Mom was trying, but 4 kids on your own is a big ask. About 20 mins before we landed the two younger ones passed out and they were pretty damned cute. But in the end my back hurt, I was exhausted and deaf in one ear.

The annoying part was, the rest of the plane was filled with old people who didn't make a peep all flight, just sat there and read, listened and slept. But we just had to be in the worst place on the plane. Sitting behind kids may be annoying, but at least they don't use your back as a punching bag like when you sit in front of them.

[–] BradleyUffner@lemmy.world 36 points 1 week ago (1 children)

A baby is annoying, but they can't really help it.

I doubt the dead person had much control of the situation either.

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[–] Boxscape@lemmy.sdf.org 20 points 1 week ago

Personally, I'd take the dead person.

[–] Ledericas@lemm.ee 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

dead bodies sometimes shit or urinate themselves. and your just being hotboxed in a plane.

[–] Feelfold@lemm.ee 13 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Babies shit and piss themselves constantly.

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[–] ThePantser@lemmy.world 63 points 1 week ago (8 children)

Couldn't have placed the body in the cargo hold or one of the bathrooms? I think passengers wouldn't have minded being one bathroom down.

[–] NatakuNox@lemmy.world 15 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Doubtful those are actual options. Bathroom? How are they going to secure the body incase of an emergency? It'll just be bouncing around in the bathroom. I don't think the door is strong enough to keep the body from falling out. And access to the cargo hold through the plane is very tight/small. It's hard enough to be an able body person getting down there. Dragging a body would be next to impossible.

[–] latesleeper@lemmy.world 34 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Access to the cargo hold? That's a myth made up by movies. Checked bags have different security standards for a reason, they're completely separate from passengers.

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[–] OsrsNeedsF2P@lemmy.ml 12 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Even if the body was in the aisle seat... Can you imagine hauling a body down the aisle of a fully booked flight?

[–] Kitathalla@lemy.lol 25 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It sounds like they already moved the body after death. They specifically moved the body to that seat.

[–] liv@lemmy.nz 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I feel like they low key hated that particular couple.

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Put it in the first class or the crew bunkers. Anywhere but there...

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[–] latesleeper@lemmy.world 61 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I think the only thing they're pissed about is the airline didn't allow them to move seats after they put the woman not in her original seat and probably being forced to stay on the plane longer than needed, potentially missing their connection to Venice, while medics came on board to haul her away.

[–] robbinhood@lemmy.world 58 points 1 week ago (8 children)

If the flight wasn't full and they didn't allow them to move seats that's extremely messed up.

[–] kyle@lemm.ee 36 points 1 week ago (5 children)

Honestly they could've secured the body to one of the flight staff seats. If there's no extra, the flight attendant could sit next to a passenger.

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[–] Broken@lemmy.ml 9 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Technically, there was at least 1 free seat since the woman wasn't using it anymore.

But that begs the question, assuming the entire plane was full then the lady was sitting next to at least one other person. They moved her from that seat to be in next to the couple in question. So it seems to me there is no situation where it's not extremely messed up.

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[–] Scuzzm0nkey@lemmy.world 49 points 1 week ago (8 children)

In his autobiography Ozzy Osborne related a story about the guy next to him dying on a flight. He informed the flight attendant who gave him the choice of moving seats or staying put with free drinks for the remainder of the flight, so he stayed in place and got blasted out of his mind.

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[–] dparticiple@sh.itjust.works 47 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Perhaps it's time to bring back the amenity that Singapore Airlines devised to handle this situation on their ultra-long-haul flights in the Airbus 340-500 -- the corpse cupboard: https://simpleflying.com/singapore-airlines-airbus-a340-500-corpse-cupboards-history/

[–] someguy3@lemmy.world 39 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

The airline installed a discreet locker next to one of the aircraft's exit doors to hold an average-sized human body. Special straps were also provided to secure the body and prevent it from being moved by turbulence or during landing.

[–] dparticiple@sh.itjust.works 8 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

Accurate. Are you a summarization bot?

[–] deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 27 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yes, but it's operating on a biological substrate.

[–] InternetCitizen2@lemmy.world 13 points 1 week ago

A trained neural network of sorts

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[–] NuXCOM_90Percent@lemmy.zip 27 points 1 week ago (7 children)

I mean... it is shit but there isn't a lot to do in this situation.

You might think they should put the body in the bathroom or cargo hold. Actual direct access to the cargo hold during flight is not feasible on most passenger flights due to pressurization/climate and safety concerns. Also, if they don't have enough straps to tie down the body then that is going to be a REALLY bad PR mess when they remove a corpse that had been bouncing around and off of luggage during a landing. And if they do have enough straps, that is a completely different PR mess.

Same for the bathroom. For a 14 hour flight I assume this jet had multiple bathrooms. But you still have the problem of a body that bounced around a bathroom during landing.

Versus? You get it away from the family so they are less traumatized. You then put a blanket on it and buckle it in so that the body is safe.

It would really suck to be the people next to where teh body ended up. But if the flight was full? Having a flight attendant say "Excuse me. Is anyone cool with sitting next to a dead body?" isn't going to end well... and all but guarantees you get the kind of people who shouldn't be allowed near a corpse to volunteer.

MAYBE put them in a flight attendant seat but those tend to be near the galley which has its own health issues. And if it is a flight with sleeping quarters for the crew (likely for a 14 hour flight) that is both a safety concern (crew can't rest) AND all the same "body bouncing around" problems as the others.

As for what Qatar Airways should have done? Personally, I would have just offered the couple a shit ton of miles. A full refund isn't "right" since we have all sat next to things we don't want to (I would honestly rather sit next to a corpse than a morbidly obese person who insists on resting their arms over my body the entire flight...). And general counseling really isn't something the airline has on staff, although it would be nice if they offered to pay for some of it.

[–] warm@kbin.earth 21 points 1 week ago (6 children)

It would make the most sense to move the body to a flight attendant seat and have an attendant sit with the passengers. Unless the flight is close to its destination, then it's probably best to just leave it as moving a corpse is a real pain.

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[–] Sterile_Technique@lemmy.world 9 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

“Excuse me. Is anyone cool with sitting next to a dead body?” isn’t going to end well… and all but guarantees you get the kind of people who shouldn’t be allowed near a corpse to volunteer.

They could have asked if anyone had medical experience, then followed up with the spiel about there being a body on board and needing someone who can handle it. The pool of potential volunteers would be narrowed down to those who could provide some basic postmortem care and then respectfully stay with the body through the rest of the flight. The potential for abuse would still be there ofc, but it'd be way lower than just outright asking who's cool with hanging out with a corpse for a few hours.

...honestly, saying that, it might not be a horrible idea to have a "I'm a medical professional" checkbox when buying the ticket. Even as 'just' a tech, I could handle some basic emergencies and wouldn't be horribly traumatized around a body. Shit, throw in a free flight in the event that some kind of emergency intervention is needed, and I'd be down to have my name added to some kind of short list of volunteers for every single flight.

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[–] meowmeowbeanz@sopuli.xyz 22 points 1 week ago

Qatar Airways introduces new "corpse class" seating—no upgrades, but plenty of legroom for one.

😿😿😿😿

[–] BilboBargains@lemmy.world 21 points 1 week ago

I've sat next to many a passenger who was dead from the neck upwards.

[–] mx_smith@lemmy.world 21 points 1 week ago (3 children)

If the movie Commando has taught me anything, it’s that a dead person covered to look like they are asleep, can make an 8 hour flight without notice.

[–] hakunawazo@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago


You just need a blanket and a pillow (and John Matrix).

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[–] garbagebagel@lemmy.world 19 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Does anyone know if there's actual protocol in these situations?

I actually know someone who died on a plane last year and, while they did at least make an emergency landing at a nearby airport, I've never thought about where they kept the body during that time. I'm not sure if it's appropriate to ask his surviving family that was with him, probably not.

[–] childOfMagenta@lemm.ee 24 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (5 children)

Cover the body, and relocate surrounding passengers, if possible, if you can't move the body to business class (moving a dead body respectfully is very hard).

Apparently there were free seats elsewhere, the pax should have been offered relocation. ~~However it's not clear if the passengers asked. The cabin crew could have been rattled too and forgot.~~

Edit: They apparently asked, I don't see why they couldn't move.

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[–] MegaUltraChicken@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago

Go ahead, put me next to the body. But don't for a second think you can stop me from acting out that scene in Commando for the rest of the flight.

"Please dont disturb my friend, he's dead tired"

[–] peaceful_world_view@lemmy.world 16 points 1 week ago (18 children)

I'd sit next to a dead person on every damn flight if I had the choice.

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[–] MyNameIsIgglePiggle@sh.itjust.works 15 points 1 week ago (11 children)

On a related note, why don't more people just drop dead while driving a car? Like I can't think of a single story that I'm aware of that went "yeah he had a heart attack and then ran the car off the road"

I feel like it should be a daily occurrence

[–] Red_October@lemmy.world 22 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Probably because after they do, they crash and it will generally be assumed the crash is what killed them.

[–] Glitterbomb@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It's going to be real weird when self driving cars finally work and sometimes cars just pull up with a dead body in it.

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[–] Vytle@lemmy.world 11 points 1 week ago

The news just doesn't report shit like that.

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