How would you feel about this on a plane

[eyeeyeeyeeyeeye]

Couple made to sit next to a dead body of a lady who died onboard

apple.news/A8Nu4zbMtRYOtJwBUKIhyqw

I'm a big fan of Weekend at Bernie's, so I'd have been fine with it.

Agreed! I would’ve just got up and sat elsewhere.

Please no one come on with any nonsense about them not being able to do that as they would not be noted in those seats in case of accident!

Well, clearly not, since the wife moved.

Look, I get the dilemma of the husband - to get out, he would have needed to climb past a corpse (larger lady or not, getting out past someone in a typical economy row usually involves them being able to move out of your way). Once it had happened, it was hard to change.

I'm not sure if sitting next to a dead body would bother me you know. I would see it as being by their side so they aren't alone kinda thing.

Could they not have used one of the toilets? Maybe not ideal but I feel fairer on the alive passengers.

I have heard of a plane doing a landing, moved the body from passenger area to the hold, then took off again.

Apparently the dead lady was quite large so easier to put her in the nearest seat

The BBC article said that the crew intially tried to move the body into business class but it was too big. That implies that there was a business class seat free that the man could have been moved to if nothing else. SO either crew were too preoccupied with the body to think about that or the man was disgruntled that they didn't offer to upgrade him. TBH if there were a few hours still to go on the flight then sitting next to a dead body could get pretty unpleasant as the doctor the BBC interviewed alluded to.

How would you feel if you or a family member died and was dumped in a stinking cramped aircraft toilet?

@MhariMe I'd rather that than they were in this situation, presumably with a blanket stuck over them. None of it is ideal.

Diverting into somewhere possibly remote or very foreign to offload the deceased could be a nightmare for family (think repatriation of remains) so it’s often considered best to carry on

I'm pretty sure they don't divert if a passenger's died, @notimagain - not even to repatriate them - but it's probably not much fun for the patient and family if they're still alive either

I once flew LAX to LHR when they had to stop in Iceland so someone could access a hospital, and couldn't help thinking for their sake "One day in sunny LA and the next in the grey rain of somewhere they know not at all"
Admittedly this may have been the least of their problems, but it still seemed pretty rough

My friend passed away on a Jet2 flight from Cyprus, plane was diverted to Turkey to land, her body was removed but companion and her luggage were flown home when flight was given departure slot.

As per the video in the BBC article, the crew tried to move the body using a sort of wheeled trolley seat but were not able to move this safely up the aisle. Think how narrow the aisles are - can barely fit a meal trolley in the gap between seats.

Sometimes life puts you situations where you have to step up and deal with things that are awkward or uncomfortable for you because of the needs of others. Coping with a grieving widow sitting next to you on an aircraft is one of these.

@Puzzledandpissedoff

I'm pretty sure they don't divert if a passenger's died, * *

It’ll be based on individual company policy but I know with absolute certainty the expectation at a couple of airlines was that if a death was discovered in flight the flight should continue to destination unless circumstances really, really, dictated otherwise (so a judgement call for the occupant of seat 0A)…At one place I worked we even used to carry a blank “death on board” certificate in a file on the flight deck for use in such circumstances, fortunately never had to fill one in.

The situation if you have a medical emergency and then the individual dies, possibly during the diversion is potentially different.

I think the one thing I remember being told about a death onboard is Never Ever put them in a toilet. Just be as dignified as possible.

Remember those passengers nearby wil have possibly seen the person collapse, have cpr and the defibrillator used on them. Their death recorded. The distraught relatives. The body is probably the least upsetting part of the whole sad situation.

In the video he said they were in a middle row of four. So if the deceased lady was on an aisle seat, as he said, there was nothing stopping him getting up and leaving the row via the other aisle. No climbing over her was needed.

In that case, he must be hard of thinking. Who in their right mind would stay sitting next to a corpse? I’d assumed he was stuck because there was only one exit.

Gosh, yes - if he could physically move and didn't pipe up to ask to be moved, then that is strange!

From CNN - edition.cnn.com/2025/02/26/australia/qatar-airways-flight-dead-passenger-body-intl-hnk/index.html

Another passenger offered Colin (the wife) an empty seat across the aisle from Ring, where she sat for the rest of the flight.

This indeed sounds like he could have got out! Perhaps the crew thought he and his wife would prefer to be across the aisle from each other than sitting in different areas.

After the flight landed, Ring said passengers in his area were told to stay put until ambulance workers and police officers arrived to remove the body. “I can’t believe they told us to stay,” he said, adding he was present when ambulance officers pulled away the blanket.

He also seems offended that the body was removed before nearby passengers could get off, but I am sure that is protocol as it would be awful if someone, say, knocked the body with a suitcase etc.

Wonder why they didn't use crew sleeping area.

I certainly wouldn't want my dead loved one stuffed in an oversized 'cupboard' that reaks of shit and piss. How undignified. Strapped into a seat with a blanket over them is much more humane.

I won't even use the plane toilet to relieve myself as they are so grim 🤢

Because if the crew need to rest - mandatory - then they need the sleeping area.

For 14h? I salute your bladder!

Bodies are incredibly heavy but surely they could have moved him WTF. I can't believe they just let him sit there and said nothing. I'm a nurse and even I wouldn't have been thrilled about it.