Sweltering passengers stuck on a plane for three hours in Greece were forced to strip off their clothes as some passed out amid soaring temperatures yesterday. 

The passengers, including dozens of athletes taking part in the IFMA World Muaythai Championships, claim they were left on the Qatar Airways flight with no air conditioning.

The plane, bound for the Qatari capital of Doha, was held on the tarmac in Athens amid 34 degrees C weather ahead of take-off when the air conditioning system reportedly encountered a technical fault.

Uncomfortable footage shows suffering travellers peeling off their clothes while covered in beads of sweat, as other passengers fanned the face of a fellow customer who appeared to have passed out in their seat. 

Passengers attempt to revive a fellow customer who fainted aboard the plane

A man fans the face of a fellow passenger who fainted

Muai Thai fighter Damian Collins shows beads of sweat dripping from his body aboard the Qatar Airways flight

South African sports therapist Garth Collins shared several videos of the incident on social media, including a clip of Damian Collins (pictured) dripping sweat

The grounded Qatar Airways flight is seen in Athens airport

The passengers, including dozens of athletes taking part in the IFMA World Muaythai Championships, claim they were left on the Qatar Airways flight with no air conditioning

The passengers were eventually allowed to disembark the aircraft to return to the terminal building at Athens International Airport and await further instructions – but not until some had reportedly fainted from the heat. 

South African sports therapist Garth Collins shared several videos of the incident on social media.

He claimed: ‘Passengers were left stranded on the plane for 3.5 hours with doors closed and no air con.

‘Passengers were literally dehydrating and passing out on the plane… (some) have connecting flights out of Doha that will not be made.’

He added: ‘Passengers were eventually given a cup of water and small soft drink, completely insufficient to rehydrate an individual after the enforced sauna on the plane.’

He also shared a clip of fighter Damian Collins showing the sweat dripping from his body.

Garth said: ‘Damian is a fit, conditioned athlete, imagine the stress and danger for any normal individual.’

Fighter Damian, who also comes from South Africa, was visiting Greece for the IFMA World Championship.

According to reports, 49 members of Thailand’s muay thai team and and a handful of Thai reporters were also onboard the flight.

Passengers react amid the soaring temperatures

Passengers react as other customers begin fainting amid the sauna like conditions

The air conditioning system on board the plane reportedly encountered a technical fault

A member of the emergency services is seen boarding the plane in Athens

Boxer Thannachai Sidsongpeenong said: ‘I was in shock.

‘Now I feel that I was lucky to get through the situation.’

Local reports said the delayed flight arrived in Doha at around 10.30am today – nearly 28 hours after the original scheduled landing time of 6:20pm yesterday. 

MailOnline has approached Qatar Airways for comment.

Air conditioning aboard commercial aircraft is designed to keep the cabin at a comfortable temperature of roughly 18-22 degrees C during a flight, most of which is spent cruising at around 35,000ft.

The system typically works by taking hot air generated by the plane’s engines and cooling it down using the freezing air temperature at this high altitude, before circulating it back through the cabin. 

But this requires the main engines to be powered, which when a plane is grounded on the runway or terminal is usually not the case as the captain will turn the turbines off so as not to use excess fuel. 

In this instance, an auxiliary power unit can run the air conditioning system but at reduced efficiency.  

Meanwhile, in hot conditions, an aircraft will soak up the heat from the sun beating down as well as the heat radiating back off the tarmac, creating a sauna effect inside the cabin, similar to a car with the windows closed on a summer’s day.