Clogged Toilets Raise A ‘Stink’, Forcing AI Flight To Return To Chicago

Chicago: Adding to Air India’s rather long list of woes, since the airline’s take over by the Tatas, a New Delhi-bound flight had to return to Chicago in the US, after being in the air for nearly 10 hours, when 11 of its 12 toilets got clogged. The aircraft was over Greenland when the cabin crew reported the ‘emergency’ to the pilots, who made a U-turn and flew back to Chicago, leaving passengers in a lurch.

According to The New York Post, only one toilet in the Business Class of the plane – carrying nearly 300 passengers – was operational. A video being circulated on social media shows passengers crowding near that single toilet, resulting in chaos. The incident occurred on March 5, the newspaper reported.

Flight AI126 was being operated with a Boeing 777-337 ER aircraft that has a seat capacity of 340. Of the 12 toilets on board, two are for First Class passengers. It took nearly four-and-a-half hours for the plane to reach Greenland and as much time to return.

Air India said that the flight was forced to return due to a ‘technical issue’. “Alternative arrangements were made for the passengers. After disembarking at Chicago, passengers and crew were provided with accommodation to minimise inconvenience,” it was stated.

The last few days have been particularly bad for the airline. A few days ago, union minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had complained that he was allotted a broken seat on a flight from Raipur to New Delhi. More recently, a woman posted on ‘X’ that her grandmother was not allotted a wheelchair at the New Delhi airport, despite assurances. The 82-year-old woman reportedly fell down and hurt her face badly due to this.

Air India did issue a rebuttal to the last complaint, saying that the elderly passenger arrived late at the airport and she was taken care of by airline staff after the accident. This rebuttal did not go down well with netizens.