Crypto party on plane sparks Qatar Airways safety concerns

A crypto-powered networking event booze cruise held onboard a Qatar Airways flight has raised safety concerns, after videos suggest that seatbelt and smoking laws were violated.

Crypto enthusiasts were shown singing and dancing on a 10-hour flight from Dubai to Singapore, in a first-of-its-kind PR stunt hosted by startup Redacted. Marketed as the “first-ever web3 sky event,” around 250 attendees enjoyed “connections, gifts, perks, and real conversations with Web3 legends.”

In an onboard speech made by Redacted’s co-founder Shan Kumar, it appears that Qatar Airways crew were “rugpulled” into thinking it would be a subdued networking event — but got more than they bargained for.

“You know what, the Qatar Airways staff are like this is the last time we’re ever gonna host a Web3 plane,” Kumar said during the flight. “And to be honest, that was the goal.”

“The goal, before we got in, was we wanna make sure nobody hosts a[nother] Web3 flight — we’re the first and the last.”

Read more: ‘Dumb as f*ck’ or ‘nice PR?’ Crypto Twitter split by NEAR marketing stunt

It appears that Kumar may get his wish. In videos shared on X, attendees are dancing in the aisles while the seatbelt sign is clearly on. According to Qatar Airways’ safety instructions, this is not allowed — and passengers are even encouraged to keep their seatbelts on when the sign is not. Ignoring these rules can result in severe casualties, for example the Singapore Airlines flight in May that hit unexpected turbulence, killing one passenger and injuring 30 more.

It remains unclear if Qatar Airways crew intervened on the 10-hour party plane. However, it’s not the only safety concern to come from Kumar’s speech — hints at smoking onboard were also made.

“You guys were f***ing amazing,” Kumar said. “I was doing some interviews earlier and I couldn’t focus there. I saw some smoke coming out, I was like what’s happening?”

Protos has reached out to Kumar and Qatar Airways for comment, but hasn’t received a response at press time.

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