Air India has confirmed that one of its flights was forced to turn around last week after plastic bags, rags and clothes clogged up most of its toilets, leaving many of its 300 passengers in discomfort.
The plane, which was heading from Chicago to the Indian capital, Delhi – a 14-hour-journey – spent nearly two hours in the air before it returned to the US city.
Video clips from inside the aircraft showed scenes of confusion as passengers huddled around crew members who seemed to be explaining the situation.
The incident has stirred a lively debate on social media, with many Indians weighing in on aeroplane bathroom etiquette.
Plane toilets store human waste in special tanks and use a vacuum system for flushing. These are normally disposed of once the plane has landed.
While clogged toilets are not uncommon, it is “next to impossible” for all toilets to break down “due to only passengers’ fault, and in a way that it causes an emergency diversion”, Mark Martin, an aviation expert told the Hindustan Times newspaper.
The incident took place on Air India Flight 126 on 5 March, but the airline put out a statement on Monday explaining what had happened.
It said it had also previously found objects such as blankets, innerwear and diapers flushed down its toilets.
“We take this opportunity to urge passengers to use lavatories only for the purposes that they are meant for,” it said.
In the statement, the airline said eight of its 12 toilets in business and economy class broke down after crew members “found polythene bags, rags and clothes that had been flushed down and stuck in the plumbing”.
It released several pictures showing bags containing waste cleared from the toilets. One photo showed a crew member holding a drainage pipe completely stuffed with what appeared to be rags.
Due to night-time restrictions at most European airports at the time, the airline said it could not divert the flight elsewhere – making a return to Chicago the only option.
“Upon landing at Chicago, all passengers and crew disembarked normally and have been provided with accommodation to minimise inconvenience,” a company spokesperson said, adding that the decision to divert was taken “entirely in the interest of passenger comfort and safety”.
The airline added that it offered passengers full refunds and rescheduled flights.
On X, many criticised the airline for poor upkeep and the lack of sanitation facilities on its aircrafts.
“Only Air India has such frequent mishaps. Honestly what has happened is indefensible,” one user said.
But others pointed out that the airline could not be held responsible for the situation.
“Can we honestly dump all the blame on Air India and the crew, when people can’t follow basic travel etiquette?” another user said.
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