Hundreds of passengers onboard a delayed Qatar Airways flight sweltered in triple-digit heat after a mechanical delay left passengers sitting for hours onboard a 777-300ER aircraft without air conditioning. At least one passenger fainted while others were so hot they removed their clothing.
Passengers Trapped In Extreme Heat Onboard After Mechanical Delay On Qatar Airways 777-300ER Athens
It has been a hot week in Athens, with temperatures rising so high that trash collection has been suspended and the Acropolis closed.
Qatar Airways 204 was due to depart Athens at 1:55 pm on Monday, June 10, 2024 but encountered a technical issue identified as an air conditioning malfunction. While not ideal on any day, such an issue is particularly difficult on a sweltering day.
Three hours after boarding, passengers were still onboard with horrific scenes captured on video that included shirtless passengers working to fan others who appeared to have passed out. Only water and a “small” soft drink were purportedly offered during the delay.
What is going on with the @qatarairways QR204 flight out of Athens? Board the flight after smoke is seen billowing from plane, leave everyone on the plane for 3 hrs, no air con in stifling heat only to (surprise) remove everyone as the plane is malfunctioning? @SkyNewsAust pic.twitter.com/CnjYy7pVh6
— Chris Zeiher (@chriszeiher) June 10, 2024
Passengers were finally allowed off the aircraft where hundreds stood in the terminal waiting for service as a single agent processed hotel and meal vouchers one passenger at a time.
The flight finally took off 6:44 am the following morning and arrived in Doha 16 hours late.
Qatar Airways has apologized:
“Qatar Airways sincerely apologizes for the delay to passengers traveling on flight QR204 from Athens (ATH) to Doha (DOH) on Monday 10 June 2024, which was due to a technical issue.
“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.”
Not only an apology, but EU261/2004 cash compensation…
But also an unpleasant reminder that you may find yourself trapped onboard a sauna-like airplane during a delay with little chance to get off if engineers are actively trying to fix the issue and the flight crew is ready to push and takeoff the moment it is fixed.
I’m not sure even a mutiny would have helped these passengers get off any quicker…
CONCLUSION
Passengers faced sweltering conditions onboard a delayed Qatar Airways flight on the ground in Athens on Monday. It took three hours for passengers to finally be let off the plane and then hours longer to receive hotel and meal accommodation.
Regular readers know that I love saunas. In fact, I spend 20 minutes a day in one at 185ºF (85ºC). But the nice thing about the sauna is that you can shower and take your clothes off before you get in. That was not the case here and it could not have been pleasant to be around 300 other passengers in such a warm environment.
image: @granitebodies / Instagram
It’s times like this that I would really want an emotional support dog to get me through the trauma.
fly “5-star” airline, you get 5-star service. Next time, QR should advertise free sauna even in economy. But honestly, bloggers praise ME airlines a bit too much, probably because enticing people like that would link to more referral and ad earnings. Tjhe reality of ME and Turkish airlines is that they are the worst when something happens. They don’t know how to handle things and they are not empowered to do so. Well, they hire people from a lot of developing countries with no experience with working at the well established airlines, so it is no wonder.
@ken … +1 . Also , they don’t match our fundamental values .
QR has good service when the plane is in the air but the ground has never been good especially in the case of a problem.
This reminds me of a similar event last summer with DL at FRA. There was a mechanical issue with the A330 and instead of having us wait in the plane in the heat without a/c (had to shut off the engines), they made us de-plane and board the plane once it was fixed. Sure, it’s annoying but it’s much better than to be stuck in the heat.
Commander with clear lack of airmanship, decision making and prioritizing.
I bet also support from Company and ops centre to crew very inadequate.
Crew in Qatar Airways are famous to be scare of the company and higher Management such Fleet Commanders, COO, Ceo etc.
Company Culture in Qatar Airways is from stone ages, lack of core values such empathy, mutual respect, trust, equality.
It is a blaming culture, caring only for the image of the company and country.
They say to travel when you retire. Really? A thousand more ways to die!
That’s what happens when Al Baker runs a company for so long. Your equipment turns into an oven.
Next time try fly with Al Gelato. Should be much cooler.