Dehydrated passengers collapsed inside a plane cabin when the air conditioning system failed before their flight.

The group of athletes, trainers, and reporters had attended the IFMA Senior World Championships 2024 in Athens, Greece, and were departing for Doha, Qatar, on Qatar Airways flight QR204 when the plane's cooling system suddenly malfunctioned on June 10.

Footage shows the people fanning themselves as they steamed inside the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in the midday heat.

Several sweat-drenched men had stripped their shirts to cool off, while other individuals experienced nosebleeds and reportedly fainted in the stifling conditions.

Disgruntled passengers were reported to have punched cabin crew during a row, prompting the captain to allow them to disembark and return to the Athens International Airport three hours later.

Shortly after, white smoke was seen wafting from the plane's fuselage while fire trucks were on standby nearby.

The passengers slammed Qatar Airways for allegedly keeping them in the dark about the situation.

Meanwhile, Muay Thai boxer Thananchai Sitsongpeenong, who had missed the international boxing competition, said: 'I was very shocked, thinking it was a shame that I didn't go, but now I feel lucky to have missed it.

'I saw the video, and the plane looked like it was so hot inside. I saw a lot of smoke too. I couldn't imagine staying in there for three hours.'