Delta Flight’s Return to Atlanta Due to Onboard Diarrhea Emergency (Watch)
Video of a Delta flight has surfaced in which a passenger experienced severe diarrhea, causing the plane to turn back to Atlanta just two hours into its journey to Spain. A team of maintenance workers spent five hours thoroughly cleaning the Delta Air Lines Airbus A350, including replacing the aisle carpeting. After an eight-hour delay, the flight eventually continued to Barcelona without further issues.
Passengers on the flight described efforts by the crew to clean up the situation using paper towels and disinfectants, but the attempt inadvertently left an unpleasant odor. One passenger mentioned the crew’s creative response of placing a paper towel “mat” in the aisle, forcing passengers to carefully navigate around it while disembarking in Atlanta.
Transcripts of conversations between the pilots and air traffic controllers revealed that the mid-air turn was prompted by a “biohazard issue” related to a passenger suffering from persistent diarrhea. Delta Air Lines referred to it as an “onboard medical issue” and apologized to passengers for the disruption.
This incident occurred shortly after another incident on an Air Canada flight involving passengers being forced to sit in seats with remnants of regurgitated matter, leading to an apology from the airline.