Tag: Qatar Airways

  • Passengers strip, faint after AC breaks down on Qatar Airways plane

    Passengers strip, faint after AC breaks down on Qatar Airways plane

    A Qatar Airways flight endured three hours without air conditioning while the plane waited in the heat at Athens airport.

    Passengers scheduled to head to Doha on Monday (June 10) nearly suffocated after the plane’s air-conditioning system stopped working while it was waiting to take off.

    The heat resulted in some passengers stripping off their clothes while others fainted.

    Some passengers reportedly suffered nosebleeds, while others relied on oxygen masks to help with breathing.

    While passengers were stuck in the stifling heat inside the plane, the outside temperature reached a high of 43 degrees Celsius.

    A physical confrontation also nearly broke out between passengers and flight crew during the incident.

    Smoke was emitting from the aircraft’s rear while it was waiting to take off, prompting airport officials to put fire trucks on standby in case of fire.

    The passengers included 49 members of the Thai Muay Thai team returning from the world championship.

    Muay Thai athlete Thananchai Sitsongpeenong told reporters that he only spotted the smoke after he got off the plane.

    “I consider myself lucky to have survived this,” he told The Nation, adding that he and other passengers were practically melting in the sauna-like heat on board.

  • 12 injured as Qatar Airways flight hits turbulence

    12 injured as Qatar Airways flight hits turbulence

    Six crew members and six passengers travelling on a Qatar Airways flight from Doha to Dublin suffered injuries during a severe bout of turbulence on Sunday.

    However, the flight landed safely and as scheduled, according to officials at the Dublin Airport.

    “Upon landing, the aircraft was met by emergency services, including airport police and our fire and rescue department, due to six passengers and six crew [12 total] on board reporting injuries after the aircraft experienced turbulence while airborne over Turkiye,” the airport authorities explained in a statement.

    NBC News talked to the passengers arriving at the airport and described the incident as frightening. “Just food all over the plane, on the ceiling, everywhere,” one of the passengers said.

    Qatar Airways said in a statement that a “small number” of passengers and crew sustained minor injuries during the flight and were receiving medical attention.

    The airline did not directly comment on the turbulence.”The matter is now subject to an internal investigation,” the statement read.

    The incident happened nearly a week after a Singapore Airlines flight from Heathrow Airport hit severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean leaving one passenger dead and 20 others injured.

    Scientists blame climate change for increased air turbulence incidents.

  • ‘Take a plane for Tiktok videos’, Kangana Ranaut thinks Qatar Airways spoof video is ‘real’

    ‘Take a plane for Tiktok videos’, Kangana Ranaut thinks Qatar Airways spoof video is ‘real’

    Bollywood actor Kangana Ranaut seems to have fallen for a spoof, again.

    Spoof video

    After Qatar rebuked India for the derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) made by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokespersons Nupur Sharma and Naveen Kumar Jindal, #BycottQatarAirways started trending on Indian Twitter.

    An Indian Twitter user ‘Vashudev’ posted a video calling for the boycott of Qatar Airways.

    Later, a spoof video with Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker replying to Vashudev’s boycott call in an interview with Al Jazeera went viral.

    “Vashudev is our biggest shareholder with a total investment of ₹634.50 rupees. We don’t know how to operate anymore. We have grounded all the flights … we are requesting Vashudev to take this call for boycott back. This is a special kind of boycott because it is b-y-c-o-t-t. Vashudev habibi, we are willing to give you one whole plane to make your TikTok videos or maybe we can give you two litres of petrol free. Please consider our offer and take the boycott back,” Qatar Airways CEO’s voiceover says in the spoof video.

    Kangana shares spoof video on Instagram

    After the spoof video went viral, Kangana Ranauat shared it on her Instagram stories, thinking the video is ‘real’.

    “This idiot of a man has no shame bullying a poor man mocking his insignificance and place in the world…Vasudev may be poor and insignificant for a rich man like you but he has the right to express his grief, pain and disappointment in whatever context it may be… remember there is a world beyond this world where we all are equal,” wrote Kangana in one of her Insta stories.

    She continued: “All so called Indians who are cheering this bully for making fun of a poor man remember this is exactly why you all are a big bojh [burden] on this over populated country.”

    Kangana later deleted her Instagram stories after journalist and fact-checker Mohammed Zubair informed her that it was a voiceover video made by an Indian.

    Kangana shares fake Shehbaz Sharif screenshot

    This is not the first time that Kangana has fallen for fake news.

    In May, Kangana shared a screenshot on her Instagram stories that featured Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s praise for her craft and performance in Dhaakad.

    However, the screenshot featured an imposter account of PM Shehbaz and not the real one.

    READ MORE: Did Shehbaz Sharif praise Kangana Ranaut? Indian actress shares screenshot

  • 15 lakhs goes missing from passenger’s carry-on on flight from Karachi

    15 lakhs goes missing from passenger’s carry-on on flight from Karachi

    A Pakistani-born United States (US) citizen— Imtiaz Rafiq— lost his cash worth $8,000 (1,514,256) while travelling to Houston from Jinnah International Airport, Karachi via Doha on Qatar Airways reports Geo News.

    As per the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), the money went missing from Rafiq’s backpack. He claimed that at Doha airport he checked his bag and realised the cash was gone.

    He has registered a complaint and asked for an investigation into the incident.

    According to Rafiq, he doubts that the money was stolen in Karachi as he had removed his backpack from his shoulders twice at the Karachi airport and found the cash in the backpack. He believes it likely happened during the flight from Karachi to Doha.

  • Flight from Delhi makes emergency landing in Karachi

    Flight from Delhi makes emergency landing in Karachi

    Qatar Airways flight, QR-579, made an emergency landing at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport on Monday. The flight was on the way to Doha from New Delhi.

    Smoke filled one of the cabins of the Airbus 150.

    According to Geo News, the plane was at a height of 40,000 feet when the fault occurred near Karachi. The flight was circling around for a while when it was decided to make an emergency landing at Jinnah International Airport.

    Other flights including Air Lanka’s UL-183 were delayed, which were supposed to land in Karachi due to emergency circumstances. Qatar Airways flight was made to land on Runway No 1 of the airport. Passengers were shifted to a transit lounge.

    Currently, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) engineers are inspecting the plane.

  • Getting direct with Australia: PIA to fly directly down under for the first time

    Getting direct with Australia: PIA to fly directly down under for the first time

    The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has announced plans to launch two weekly flights to Australia, cutting travel time to and from the country by around one-third, The News reports.

    PIA spokesperson Abdullah Hafeez says that if it (flights to Australia by a Pakistani carrier) happens, it would be happening for the first time.  He said that PIA has conducted a feasibility study, which concluded that it would be beneficial to the airline.

    PIA intends to operate two weekly flights from Karachi and Lahore to Sydney at first. Later, it might also include Islamabad.

    Flights might commence in late March or early April, according to the national carrier. The airline, however, has yet to receive authorisation from the Australian aviation authority.

    Direct flights would shorten a traveler’s flight duration to 12:30 hours and 13 hours, if one is going to Australia or coming to Pakistan respectively.

    Because there are no direct flights between Pakistan and Australia, passengers must travel for 34 to 35 hours with stopovers, which adds to their travel time.

    “Every airline must touch their hub before flying on to their destination,” stated Nadeem Sharif, Chairman of the Travel Agents Association of Pakistan (TAAP). “There may be eight-hour layovers or even overnight stays, which adds to the travel time.”

    He added that, for example, if a person travelling to Australia via Qatar Airways from Pakistan, he or she must first fly to Doha, Qatar Airways’ hub, and then be carried to Australia from there. Similarly, when a person travels from Australia to Pakistan, the same thing happens.

    PIA’s fleet is expected to grow from the current 29 to 49 by 2026, comprising 16 wide body, 27 narrow body and 6 turbo propeller aircraft. PIA’s share price increased by 1.24 percent on Tuesday to Rs4.09.

  • Miracle baby delivered by passenger during flight to Uganda

    Miracle baby delivered by passenger during flight to Uganda

    A Canadian doctor helped a woman deliver a baby during an overnight flight to Uganda. The mother, a migrant worker who was on her way home was about to deliver her first child on the plane to Uganda from Saudi Arabia , when the Qatar Airways staff asked if there was a doctor on board.

    Dr. Ayesha Khatib, a professor at the University of Toronto, sprang into action when she answered an urgent appeal on Qatar Airways’ intercom for a medical professional.

    The baby, named ‘Miracle Ayesha’ after Dr Khatib, was born healthy, despite being early at 35 weeks.

    “I see a crowd of people gathered around the patient,” Dr Khatib told BBC. At this point, she was wondering if someone was having a heart attack.

    “As I got closer, I see this woman lying on the seat with her head toward the aisle and feet towards the window. And the baby was coming out!”

    Dr Khatib was helped by two other passengers, an oncology nurse and a pediatrician. She said that the baby was crying “robustly”. After she quickly checked the baby, she passed her on to the pediatrician for further checks.

    “I looked at the baby, and she was stable, and I looked at the mom and she was OK,” said Dr Khatib.

    “So I was like, ‘Congratulations it’s a girl.’ Then the entire plane started clapping and cheering and was like ‘Oh right, I’m on a plane and everybody is watching this.’”

    “The best part of the story is that she decided to name the baby after me,” says Dr Khatib.