A passenger in India was locked in an airplane toilet for more than an hour after its door malfunctioned mid-journey.
The man was on board a SpiceJet flight from Mumbai to Bengaluru city – typically a 105-minute journey – when he got stuck inside the tiny lavatory. He was rescued early Tuesday morning after the flight landed in Bengaluru.
SpiceJet has issued an apology, saying it regretted the “inconvenience caused to the passenger”.
“Throughout the journey, our crew provided assistance and guidance to the passenger. Upon arrival, an engineer opened the lavatory door and the passenger received immediate medical support,” a SpiceJet spokesperson told the BBC, adding that the airline would provide him a full refund.
The airline declined to share more details of the passenger, but one newspaper reported the man was in a “state of shock”.
“The poor man flew from Mumbai to Bengaluru inside the toilet and, shockingly, landed trapped inside the tiny lavatory,” an unnamed official at Bengaluru airport told the Times of India.
The official added that the crew, which had been responding to the man's distress calls, tried opening the door multiple times.
An airhostess then slipped a note to the passenger requesting him not to panic, the official said.
“Sir, we tried our best to open the door…Do not panic. We are landing in a few minutes, so please close the commode lid and sit on it and secure yourself. As soon as the main door is open, engineer will come,” the note reportedly said.
The incident has taken place at a time when India's aviation minister has said it would set up ‘war rooms' at the country's six major airports to address issues around passenger inconveniences. Hundreds of domestic flights have been delayed since Sunday after a thick fog engulfed Delhi, which is home to one of India's busiest airports.
Airlines have blamed the cascading effect of fog for the chaos. But furious passengers have accused airlines and airports of inadequate communication.
— CutC by bbc.com
