An Air India flight from Chicago to Delhi was forced to return to its point of departure due to unserviceable lavatories on the plane. The staff of the AI126 flight on March 5 discovered operational issues in eight of the 12 toilets onboard. Roughly two hours after takeoff, the attendants reported that some of the lavatories in the Business and Economy sections were out of order. The passengers had brought the problems to the attention of the staff. By that time, the flight had crossed over Greenland. An investigation by the flight crew uncovered the alarming cause: a series of blockages resulting from certain items having been thrown into the toilets.
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"Our teams found polythene bags, rags, and clothes that had been flushed down and stuck in the plumbing. This led the lavatories to become unserviceable," the airline revealed. "We fully empathise with passengers who faced discomfort and whose travel plans have been affected by the flight's diversion," Air India said. It was decided that the plane would be flown back to Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. "By this time, the aircraft was overflying the Atlantic, leaving points in Europe as potential cities to divert to. However, due to restrictions on night operations at most of the European airports, it was decided to divert back to Chicago," the airline explained. Once the passengers landed in Chicago, the airline helped them with hotel accommodations and new flight arrangements to ensure they could resume their travel to Delhi.
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Recently, another flight concern made headlines. A written bomb threat discovered in a lavatory on an Air India Mumbai-New York flight triggered a security alert on Monday. The flight, carrying 322 people, was forced to return to Mumbai from Azerbaijani airspace. After conducting a comprehensive security check, authorities confirmed the threat was a hoax.
