MELBOURNE, Australia (Channel 9) – An Australian couple says they suffered trauma after being forced to sit beside a dead body during a Qatar Airways flight despite other seats being available.

The couple, Mitchell Ring and Jennifer Colin, who were on their way to holiday in Venice, recounted the incident to Australia’s Channel 9 on the A Current Affair programme according to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

The woman passed away mid-fight and the couple who were sitting beside seats normally reserved for the crew, were asked to move over.

The body was then placed next to them wrapped in blankets and while Colin was allowed to switch seats Ring was forced to sit beside the body for the entirety of the flight despite the fact he said other open seats were available.

While sympathetic to the woman and the crew, who Ring says acted swiftly, he said that he had to witness the unwrapping of the body when the plane landed as emergency personnel boarded and stressed that there had been no follow-up from the airline.

“We totally understand that we can’t hold the airline responsible for the poor lady’s death, but there has to be a protocol to look after the customers on board,” Colin told Channel 9.