Qantas has apologized and refunded a passenger who had to endure eight hours sitting in someone else’s vomit after a passenger on the previous leg became seriously ill.
Keira Connell was on her way home from Singapore to Sydney, where she, her husband and five-year-old daughter spent a week on holiday.
The Airbus A380 departed London and stopped in Singapore on Saturday, where the family boarded the red-eye flight.
When the trio took their seats at the front of the plane near the toilet, Keira said she immediately noticed a foul smell.
“I told the staff straight away that the plane absolutely smelled bad and they told me it had been deep cleaned and sprayed as well,” Keira told news.com.au.
But it was only when the plane was heading for the runway that things took a terrible turn.
Keira, who was wearing a skirt, said she felt “something wet” on her leg.
“I asked my husband if our toddler spilled water or something on my seat and he said ‘no’.
“After the seat belt sign went off, I got up and wiped the seat.”
She noticed something “pink” attached to her leg.
“I feel disgusted saying this – when I pulled the rear end forward to see what it was I noticed I had something pink on me and when I looked at my hand my husband said ‘that’s vomit’.
“That person’s vomit must have hit the floor and splashed up.
“I went to the bathroom to wash my hands and the carpet was wet and the bathroom smelled too.”
A horrified Keira immediately notified the cabin crew, who informed her that because it was like a “biohazard,” they couldn’t clean up the vomit.
“She (a crew member) said biohazard protocol doesn’t allow them to clean it.”
Eventually, a crew member wiped down the sick with an antibacterial spray and allegedly told Keira “there’s nothing else we can do”.
“You could see the crew was really worried themselves,” she said.
Keira claimed the flight was also full of certain foods and her entertainment system was not working. She also said she found used earplugs and lollipop wrappers on her seat.
“It wasn’t the immediate crew’s fault, they were extremely professional, but they were clearly stressed,” she said.
Keira also noticed that the crew jump seat also had vomit on it.
A Qantas spokesperson told news.com.au they have since apologized to Keira and given her a refund.
“We have apologized to the customer for what would have been a very unpleasant flight and offered her a refund for her flight,” the spokesman said.
“A passenger on the previous flight was not feeling well and subsequently became ill in the seat and in the surrounding area.
“Our cleaning supplier in Singapore carried out a deep cleaning of the seat before the next departure, including using disinfectant in the surrounding area, but it was clearly not up to standard.”
The spokesman said they have raised the issue with the airline’s cleaning supplier to find out what happened.
As part of the apology, Keira was also awarded 10,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points.
However, almost 24 hours after arriving in Sydney, Keira, her husband and daughter all came down with gastro.
She said that while she is grateful for the refund, she would wait for the airline to issue a refund to her husband and daughter.
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