The couple were on a Qatar Airways flight from Australia to Qatar. The airline apologized.
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 feel like if they had asked for volunteers to sit next to the body they would have gotten some. It's morbid, yes, but on a practical level it's more comfortable than being squished next to a living stranger.
Instincts, man. People here lack them. Don't hang out next to a dead body of someone who just randomly collapsed, especially on something like a plane which can experience bad turbulence.
Given Trump's policies, idk about that. It might become commonplace for us to see dead bodies. It was during his last admin, all those makeshift body storage areas, remember?
I think that's a fairly reasonable solution. The problem is asking people though. Can't really blast on the loud speaker that someone died, hard to go seat by seat.