Passengers forced to strip off after being trapped in 38 degree plane for hours

Passengers had no choice but to start stripping down while being trapped in a scorching hot aircraft for hours.

Alongside a number of holidaymakers onboard the plane, there were dozens of sportspeople that were set to take part in the upcoming IFMA World Muaythai Championships.

A lot of the people were forced to take any measure necessary to stay cool onboard the Qatar Airways flight departing from Greece on Monday (10 June).

Apparently, the air conditioning system ran into a technical error, as passengers were left waiting onboard the plane, getting more concerned as time went on.

Passengers were made to strip down and fan themselves to stay cool. (Jam Press)

Footage emerged on social media of people stripping off in the aircraft, while others were covered in beads of sweat, helpless to the situation.

Eventually, they were allowed to return to the terminal at Athens International Airport, where they would await further instructions.

It was not how those onboard expected their travels to go, as South African sports therapist Garth Collins was a main contributor of posting pictures and videos of the ordeal to social media.

He said: “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.”

Collins said that passengers had no communication from the airline over what the situation was, as people's plans were ruined, with just one person at the check-in desk to help.

He continued: “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.”

The sports therapist then shared a video of South African Muay Thai fighter Damian Collins, who was dripping in sweat, adding: “Damian is a fit, conditioned athlete, imagine the stress and danger for any normal individual.”

Damian was visiting Greece ahead of the IFMA World Championship, with 49 members of the Thai Muaythai team and their native reporters also reportedly on the flight.

Thannachai Sidsongpeenong, another boxer, said: “I was in shock. But now I feel that I was lucky to get through the situation.”

Fit and trained athletes were struggling in the conditions on the runway. (Jam Press)

Reports said that the delayed flight arrived in Doha at around 10:30 am on Tuesday (11 June), having been scheduled to land at 6:20pm on Monday.

A Qatar Airways spokesperson later 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.”