Australian couple traumatised after body placed next to them on flight

An Australian couple traveling from Melbourne to Venice through Doha have spoken out on the "traumatic" moment a dead passenger was placed on the seat next to them on a Qatar Airways flight.

Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin, the two travellers, told Australia's Channel 9 a woman had died in the aisle beside them during the flight from Melbourne to Doha, says the BBC.

The couple says that the cabin crew covered the woman's body in blankets before placing it on the seat next to Mitchell Ring for the remaining four hours of the flight, and did not offer to move him, despite there being empty seats.

Qatar Airways said it apologised for "any inconvenience or distress this incident may have caused", adding that it was in the process of contacting passengers.

The couple said they had not been contacted or offered support by Qatar Airways or Qantas, the airline through which they booked the flight.

They said there should be a protocol to ensure passengers onboard were looked after in such situations.

'Duty of care'

Ring told Channel Nine's Current Affair programme that staff had responded "in no time" when the woman collapsed, but that "unfortunately the lady couldn't be saved, which was pretty heart-breaking to watch".

He said the cabin crew had tried to move her body towards business class "but she was quite a large lady and they couldn't get her through the aisle".

Ring said the crew had seen seats were available beside him.

"They said, 'Can you move over please?' and I just said, 'Yes no problem'.

"Then they placed the lady in the chair I was in."

While Colin was able to move to an empty seat nearby, Ring said he had not been given the option to do so by cabin crew - even though there were vacant seats.

When the plane landed four hours later, he said passengers were asked to stay put while medical staff and police came on board.

He said ambulance officers had then started pulling blankets off the woman and he had seen her face.

The couple said there needed to be a "duty of care" for customers and staff.

"We should be contacted to make sure, do you need some support, do you need some counselling?"

Colin called the experience "traumatic" and said: "We totally understand that we can't hold the airline responsible for the poor lady's death, but there has to be a protocol to look after the customers on board."

In a statement, Qatar Airways said: "First and foremost our thoughts are with the family of the passenger who sadly passed away on board our flight.

"We apologise 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."

A Qantas spokesperson said: "The process for handling incidents onboard an aircraft like this is managed by the operating airline, which in this case is Qatar Airways."