Keira Connell was on her way home to Sydney from Singapore where she, her husband and five-year-old daughter spent a week on holiday when they boarded the Airbus A380
A woman who had to sit in someone else’s vomit for an eight-hour flight, has finally been refunded after claiming the issue ruined her holiday.
Keira Connell was on her way home to Sydney from Singapore where she, her husband and five-year-old daughter spent a week on holiday. The Qantas airline Airbus A380 departed from London and stopped in Singapore on Saturday where the family boarded the red-eye flight.
When the trio took to their seats at the front of the aircraft near the toilets, Keira said she immediately noticed a foul smell. She told news.com.au: “I said to staff straight away that the plane absolutely stinks and they told me it was subjected to a deep clean and also sprayed.”
But it wasn’t until the plane was taxiing to the runway that things got worse. Keira, who was wearing a skirt, said she felt “something wet” on her leg. She said: “I asked my husband if our little one spilt water or something on my seat and he said ‘no’. Once the seatbelt sign was turned off, I got up and wiped the seat.
“I feel disgusting saying this – when I pulled the back of my skirt to the front 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 splattered up. I went to the bathroom to wash my hands and the carpet was all wet and the bathroom also stunk. A crew member said the biohazard protocol doesn’t allow them to clean it. You could see the crew were really distressed themselves,” she said.
Keira also noticed the crew’s jump seat also had vomit on it.
A Qantas spokeswoman said they have since apologised to Keira and issued her with a refund. She said: “We have apologised to the customer for what would have been a very uncomfortable flight and have offered to refund her flight. A passenger on the prior flight was feeling unwell and was subsequently sick on the seat and surrounding area.
“Our cleaning supplier in Singapore conducted a deep clean of the seat prior to the next departure, including using disinfectant in the surrounding area, but it was clearly not up to standard.” As part of the apology, Keira was also given 10,000 Qantas Frequent Flyer points.
However, almost 24 hours after arriving in Sydney, Keira, her husband and daughter all fell ill with a stomach bug. She said while she’s grateful for the refund, she would have expected the airline issue a refund for her husband and daughter as well.