Waiting more than three hours on a plane stuck on the runway in temperatures reaching 38 degrees has turned into hell for passengers flying from Athens to Doha, Qatar, saysSun‘.
Without air conditioning and with doors closed, many passengers passed out and became dehydrated due to the heat inside the plane, which passengers called a “sauna.” To cope with the temperature, some people, completely sweating, were forced to take off their clothes.
Despite warnings about excessive heat in Greece, passengers were placed on a Qatar Airways plane that actually had a faulty air conditioning system.
“Passengers ended up being given a glass of water and a small soft drink, which is not enough to rehydrate a person after a forced sauna on an airplane,” said Garth Collins, a South African sports therapist.
On board were dozens of athletes participating in the IFMA Muay Thai World Championships and several Thai journalists.
After waiting for so long, people were eventually allowed to disembark and return to the Athens International Airport terminal. The situation angered some passengers who needed to catch other flights.
The flight arrived in Doha with a 16-hour delay.
The airline expressed regret over the current situation in a statement to “Sun‘: Qatar Airways regrets the delay of passengers on flight QR204 from Athens to Doha on Monday 10 June 2024 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 maintenance teams worked to resolve the issue. The flight departed later from ATH and arrived at the Department of Health at 10:30 local time on Tuesday, June 11, 2024. The safety of our passengers and crew remains our top priority and we apologize for any inconvenience caused by this delay.”