When we think of air travel, we often picture the excitement of jetting off to exotic destinations or the convenience of swiftly crossing vast distances.

However, for some Australian travellers, their anticipated journey turned into a harrowing ordeal when their flight became a backdrop for a distressing situation.

The Qatar Airways flight QR-204 was set to depart for Doha, Qatar from Athens, Greece on Monday, 2 pm, with many passengers en route to Melbourne.

As they prepared to board, smoke was 'billowing' from one of the aircraft's engines, prompting the presence of a fire truck.

Despite the visible smoke and the evident concern among the passengers, the airline continued boarding without providing any information about the incident.

Qatar Airways passengers last Monday faced over a four-hour ordeal with the flight's malfunctioning engine. Image Credit: Pexels/Jeffry Surianto

Passenger Jodie Grocock recounted the unnerving experience.

'They started the plane, and it stopped straight away. They then started it again, and it stopped immediately,' Grocock shared.

'I lost count of how many times they did this, but they did it for about two hours.'

The cabin became unbearable as temperatures soared to 35°C outside, feeling like 45°C inside the aircraft, which had no air conditioning at the time.

'They had no drinks on the plane. They had a baby who was just about passing out. It's the most disgusting thing I've seen. After two hours, the captain announced that there was a technical issue with some equipment,' Gorock continued.

After the four-hour ordeal, passengers finally disembarked, only to face further delays as they sought accommodation and information about their rescheduled flights.

'My 19-hour flight is going to take me 51 hours,' Gorock complained.

Another passenger, Louise Morfis, caught footage of the smoke and expressed her anxiety to the ground staff.

'I was a little bit anxious. I asked the ground staff in Greek if it is safe to board, and he looked at me like, "What are you on about?" Morfis shared.

The passengers were eventually given letters for compensation, though the details of what that might entail remain unclear.

As of writing, Qatar Airways has yet to provide a public statement regarding the incident.

This story is a stark reminder of the importance of airline safety and the duty of care that carriers owe to their passengers.

Knowing your rights and demanding proper assistance in distressing circumstances is essential for travellers.

Key Takeaways

• Several Australian passengers were involved in a distressing situation when a Qatar Airways flight started smoking up on the tarmac.
• Passengers boarded the plane without being informed of the earlier incident, which involved smoke from one of the plane's engines.
• The ordeal included multiple failed attempts to start the plane, a lack of air-conditioning, and a baby nearly passing out due to the heat.
• After being stranded for hours, the passengers were provided letters of compensation by the airline, which has not commented yet on the situation.

Have you ever encountered a similar situation during your travels? How did the airline handle it? Share your experiences and insights with us in the comments section below.

 

[Jest]

until you are in a situation one does not know how they would handle a situation. They may think they do,

 

[PattiB]

All these disasters with planes are starting to put me off flying. Goodness knows how I’d react, hopefully I’d stay calm but I really don’t think that I’d board if smoke was billowing from an engine.

 

[Veggiepatch]

What type of a two-bit operation is Qatar Airlines? It sounded like the aircraft in question was a Douglas DC-3!