It’s one thing to have a bad bathroom experience onboard an airplane, but it’s another to have it declared a biohazard that forces the flight to make an emergency landing.
But, that’s what unfolded onboard a Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Barcelona at the weekend.
Delta Flight 194 was just two hours into the 8-hour flight when the pilot informed air traffic control of a “biohazard” incident
A listener to air traffic control tweeted about the incident.
“We’ve had a passenger who’s had diarrhoea all the way through the airplane, so they want us to come back to Atlanta,.”
A Delta Airlines Airbus A350 turned around back to Atlanta Friday night because of diarrhea throughout the airplane from a passenger and it’s a biohazard. 👀🥴
The FAA flight strip for DL194 was posted to Reddit (đź“·xStang05x) Also a passenger posted here asking why her son’s… pic.twitter.com/VWbkB47wF1
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) September 3, 2023
Photos were also shared of flight progress strips with information about the flight being diverted due to “passenger diarrhoea all over aircraft”.
Cleaning crews serviced the aircraft and it left for Spain 8 hours later.
A Delta spokesperson told media a “medical issue” had occurred onboard.
“Our teams worked as quickly and safely as possible to thoroughly clean the airplane and get our customers to their final destination. We sincerely apologise to our customers for the delay and inconvenience to their travel plans,” a spokesperson said.
It’s not the first time bodily movements have affected the movement of passengers in the air.
In June, a Qantas flight from Perth to Broome also made a landing due to diarrhoea.
According to reports online, QF1070 initially reported a technical issue just after take off from Perth.
An air traffic control listener on the ground reported the first officer had become incapacitated and was taken home in a taxi by the station manager after suffering from gastric diarrhoea.
