Passengers on a Qatar Airways flight were forced to strip off
clothing and some appeared to pass out as their plane sat on the runway
for around three hours with no air conditioning during a 35°C heatwave
in Athens, Greece on Monday, 10 June 2024.
Videos from Flight 204 to Doha showed sweating passengers fanning
themselves and removing shirts and other garments to try to stay cool
after the Boeing 777's cooling system failed.
"Passengers were literally dehydrating and passing out on the plane,"
wrote a sports therapist on board, who shared footage on Instagram of
distressed travelers. One video showed a man identified as "Damian", an
athlete returning home from a Muay Thai competition in the Greek
capital, who was described as "a fit, conditioned athlete" struggling in
the sweltering conditions.
Other photos depicted shirtless passengers drenched in sweat as
temperatures soared inside the aircraft over the three-hour delay before
they were finally allowed to deplane.
The flight ultimately took off about 16 hours behind schedule according to flight tracking data.
A Qatar Airways spokesperson apologised for the "technical issue" and
said passengers were provided support, but the incident highlights the
dangers of increasing heatwaves from climate change for air travellers.
The extreme heat also forced closures of archaeological sites like
the Acropolis in Athens this week as Greece grappled with the weather
emergency.