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 passengers fanning themselves as they sweltered inside the Boeing 777 aircraft in the midday Arabian heat.

Several sweat-drenched men had stripped their shirts to cool off, while others 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.

Garth Collins said: 'Qatar Airways is handling the situation with flight QR204 from Athens to Doha terribly. Passengers were left stranded on the plane for three and a half hours with doors closed and no aircon.

'Passengers were literally dehydrating and passing out on the plane. They were finally allowed off of the plane and are now sitting in a queue with no communication from the company as to what the situation is. Passengers have connecting flights out of Doha that will not be made.

'There is one person available at the Qatar check-in desk helping one person at a time. Passengers aren't being fed or hydrated.'

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.'

State-owned Qatar Airways, which was named the world's best airline in 2024, has not commented on the incident.