A Delta flight recently faced a shocking situation that forced them to return mid-air. Delta flight DL194 was en route from Atlanta to Barcelona when an unsettling incident occurred. One passenger suddenly experienced severe diarrhoea throughout the plane. The mess created by the passenger was termed a “biohazard issue” by the flight’s pilots.
Communication between the pilots and air traffic control reflected the grim situation. A significant snippet from their discussion was, “We had a passenger who had diarrhoea all the way through the airplane”. The pilots made this communication public on Twitter.
The flight, serving around 330 passengers, initially proceeded as planned. However, somewhere near Richmond, Virginia, about an hour into the flight, the drastic decision to turn back was made.
Cancelling an airborne flight is an expensive ordeal for the airline. It involves wasting fuel and swiftly locating a new crew. Yet, given the circumstances, the pilots had no choice but to change course.
A distraught passenger’s partner shared the horrendous details on social media. Notably, they expressed that, “The vanilla scented disinfectant used on it only made it smell like vanilla sh**”.
The plane landed back in Atlanta around 10:40 pm. Due to the unexpected situation, it was four hours later than the initial departure time. Delta’s team quickly and safely ensured the plane’s thorough cleaning to resume the service. After the cleanup, the flight took off again at 3 am and landed in Barcelona around 5 pm, making it eight hours late.
Delta confirmed the incident to Insider, referring to it as a “medical issue”. The airline, however, did not elaborate on the nature of the issue. Delta apologized for the inconvenience and delay it caused to its passengers’ travel plans.
