The plane was still at the gate in Melbourne when cabin crew and emergency services rushed to assist her.

A 24-year-old aspiring chef from Melbourne, Manpreet Kaur, died on a Qantas flight from Melbourne to Delhi, hours before she was set to reunite with her family for the first time in four years.

The student boarded the flight on June 20 despite feeling unwell before arriving at the airport.

However, upon attempting to fasten her seatbelt, she collapsed and "died on the spot," according to her friend Gurdip Grewal.

The plane was still at the gate in Melbourne when cabin crew and emergency services rushed to assist her.

"When she got on the plane, she was struggling to put her seatbelt on," Grewal told the Herald Sun. "Just before her flight started, she fell in front of her seat and died on the spot."

It is believed that Ms Kaur likely succumbed to tuberculosis, an infectious disease primarily affecting the lungs, as reported by the Herald Sun.

Ms Kaur had been working at Australia Post while studying cookery, aiming to become a chef.

Her roommate, Kuldeep, described her as "kind and honest," adding, "She loved to travel with her friends around Victoria."

Manpreet Kaur was returning to India to see her parents for the first time since moving to Australia in March 2020.