Holidaymakers and athletes claim they were stuck on an plane with no air conditioning for more than three hours as temperatures inside rose.
Some passengers, including dozens of sports people taking part in the IFMA World Muaythai Championships, were forced to strip off while others desperately fanned themselves to keep cool on board the Qatar Airways flight out of Greece yesterday.
The air conditioning system reportedly encountered a technical fault, and while passengers waited on board the plane bound for the Qatari capital of Doha, they began to become concerned. Footage shows some peeling off their clothes while others were covered in beads of sweat.
The passengers were eventually allowed to disembark the aircraft to return to the terminal building at Athens International Airport to await further instruction. South African sports therapist Garth Collins shared several videos of the incident on social media.
People were being fanned on board (Jam Press Vid)He claimed: “Qatar Airways is handling the situation with flight QR204 from Athens to Doha terribly. Passengers were left stranded on the plane for 3.5 hours with doors closed and no air con. Passengers were literally dehydrating and passing out on the plane.
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“They were finally allowed off of the plane and are now sitting in a queue with no communication from the company as to what the situation is. Passengers have connecting flights out of Doha that will not be made. There is one person available at the Qatar check in desk helping one person at a time.”
Passengers were sweltering (Jam Press Vid)
Passengers shared what was happening (Jam Press Vid)He added: “Passengers were eventually given a cup of water and small soft drink, completely insufficient to rehydrate an individual after the enforced sauna on the plane.”
He also shared a clip of Muay Thai fighter Damian Collins showing the sweat dripping from his body. Garth added: “Damian is a fit, conditioned athlete, imagine the stress and danger for any normal individual.”
People on board were concerned (Jam Press Vid)The boxer, who also comes from South Africa, was visiting Greece for the IFMA World Championship. According to reports, 49 members of the Thai Muaythai team and a handful of Thai reporters were also onboard the flight.
Boxer Thannachai Sidsongpeenong said: “I was in shock. But now I feel that I was lucky to get through the situation.” Local reports said the delayed flight arrived in Doha at around 10.30am on Tuesday, after being scheduled to land at 6.20pm Monday.
A Qatar Airways spokesman said: “Qatar Airways sincerely apologises for the delay to passengers travelling on flight QR204 from Athens (ATH) to Doha (DOH) on Monday 10 June 2024, which was due to a technical issue.
“As a result, all passengers were asked to disembark the aircraft and were supported by our staff at Athens International Airport while ground maintenance teams worked to resolve the issue. The flight later departed from ATH, arriving in DOH at 10.39 local time on Tuesday 11 June 2024, where we extended our full support to all affected passengers upon arrival to ensure smooth onward connections to their final destination.
“We regard the safety and comfort of our passengers and crew as our highest priority at all times, and have offered our apologies to each passenger affected by this unforeseen disruption and the inconvenience caused. Additionally, passengers have been informed of their compensation entitlements in line with the applicable regulations.”
Just days ago, another set of passengers were also stuck with no air conditioning on a sweltering plane in Turkey. A doctor on board said he feared for the safety of children on board and eventually the pilot abandoned the flight and they returned to the terminal.
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