Qatar Airline Passenger Begs Co-Fliers For Money, Delaying Flight

A video of a middle-aged man asking for money from his co-passengers on a flight from Qatar’s Hamad International Airport to Shiraz International Airport, Iran, has gone viral on social media.

In the video, the shabbily dressed man can be seen asking for help from co-passengers while the Qatar Airways flight attendants try to stop him. A female crew member called a male flight attendant to her help after she was unable to stop him, but to no avail.

The video that garnered more than 25,000 views also shows a passenger giving him some money, as he stood in the aisle of the plane and delayed take-off for more than a minute. The bizarre incident was definitely one of the firsts.

It was earlier reported the incident took place at the Karachi airport; however, Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority clarified it happened on a Qatar Airways flight, Pakistan’s Geo TV reported. The man has not been identified yet but some Pakistani channels claimed he was an Iranian national.

Danyal Gilani, a Pakistani bureaucrat tweeted, “Not true. This video is made onboard a Doha-Shiraz flight. The so-called beggar, who is an Iranian deportee, speaking Farsi & the lady making the video is also speaking in Farsi.”

"The old man was deported without any money so he was asking passengers in the plane to help him out," he added.

Qatar Airways said the man had bought a ticket and then boarded the flight, India TV News reported. A one-way flight between Doha and Shiraz costs about £400 ($532).

The video made it almost impossible for people to believe someone dressed like this would board a flight despite the security procedures of any airlines.

“How this Beggar managed to get on this qatar airways International Flight... Should be investigated!!” Twitter user Faisal Iqbal posted.

Social media was also swamped by news of Qatar Airways anniversary offer. However, the airways put out a statement Wednesday stating the offers were fake.