A plane heading to Dehli in India, was forced to turn around after it was discovered that nine out of the 10 toilets onboard were clogged and could not be used
A video shared online shows passengers onboard a flight panicking after it was forced to turn around due to clogged toilets.
A flight from the US to India was forced to turn around just four hours into the flight, due to nine of the 10 toilets on board being clogged.
The aircraft changed its course approximately four hours and 25 minutes into its journey, shortly after crossing the coast of Greenland, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24. Air India confirmed that flight AI126 was forced to return to Chicago O’Hare International Airport due to a technical issue with the aircraft. Despite this setback, all crew members and passengers were able to disembark as planned.
The airline assured that alternative arrangements were made to transport the passengers to their final destination. The decision to turn back was made after it was discovered that nine out of the ten restrooms on the Boeing 777-300 ER jet were backed up, with only one business class restroom operational.
The aircraft had just crossed the coast of Greenland, when it decided to turn back, having departed Chicago at 11am on Wednesday. The flight returned at around 9pm, resulting in a 10-hour journey back to the starting point. Out of the aircraft’s 342 passenger capacity, 303 economy seats were available. Passengers affected by the incident were offered free rescheduling and full refunds for cancellations by the airline.
Clogged toilets on airplanes are often caused by passengers flushing unauthorised items. Due to the limited number of restrooms available, it is not uncommon for a flight crew to make the decision to return if a significant number of restrooms are out of order. In January, an Air France flight was forced to make an emergency landing in Brazil, after a passenger is said to have clogged the toilet.
The Boeing 777 had to make an unscheduled landing while on route to its destination from Paris. The jet wasn’t far from its destination of Rio de Janeiro when it had to divert to Pinto Martins International Airport in Fortaleza.
Fraport, which manages the Brazilian airport, said Flight AF 484 had to make the stop due to a QTU (Quick Toilet Unit) on board needing to be serviced and cleared of sanitary waste. Brazilian media reported that the incident was caused by a passenger, who had caused the toilet to be unusable, although did not provide further details.
In April 2023, passengers clogged the toilets onboard an eight-hour New York bound flight, and forced the plane to be turned around.
The flight from Vienna, Austria, to New York, America, was called off two hours into flying, after cabin crew announced that five of the eight toilets on the aircraft were unusable and couldn’t flush properly, an Austrian Airlines spokesperson said.