Crappy landings.
Air India has implored passengers to use the lavatories for their intended purpose after passengers clogged airplane toilets with clothing, diverting an international flight.
The airlines wished to “urge passengers to use lavatories only for purposes they are meant for,” Air India reps told the Times Of India in a statement.
They issued the PSA following a revolting incident aboard an Air India flight from Chicago to Delhi on March 5.
Air India Flight 126 had been soaring over Greenland when passengers flushed polythene bags, rags, and clothes down the lavatory johns, rendering eight out of twelve toilets inoperable, airline reps told the Post.
Due to the malfunction, the jet was forced to turn back to Chicago’s O’Hare Airport five hours into the nearly 14-hour long flight.
While the airline had been closer to Europe at the time — making several European cities the most obvious diversion destinations — they’d decided to return to the Windy City because of “restrictions on night operations at most of the European airports,” Air India reps explained.
“The decision to divert was taken entirely in the interest of passenger comfort and safety,” they insisted.
“Upon landing at Chicago, all passengers and crew disembarked normally and have been provided with accommodation to minimize inconvenience,” the company said in a statement, citing only a “technical issue.”
“Alternative arrangements are being made to fly the passengers to their destination.”
Air India also pledged to offer refunds for the fiasco, but this was little consolation to some flyers, who claimed they had to go through a lot of rigamaroll to get their flights rebooked and refunded.
This isn’t the first time an Air India flight has been plagued by flyers using the lavatory as a trash compactor.
“Our teams have previously also found objects such as blankets, innerwear, and diapers, among other waste, having been flushed down the toilets on other flights,” airline reps said.
The issue has been particularly prevalent aboard the old Boeing 777s used for the carrier’s North American hauls, the Times Of India reported.
And while flushing prohibited items might seem trivial, just one clogged toilet can prompt the pilots ground a flight due to the limited number of facilities in the friendly skies.