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.
