- The man was locked in a toilet for more than 100 minutes during a flight through India
A plane passenger was stuck in a plane’s cramped toilet for the entirety of his flight across India, leaving him ‘traumatised’ after the door lock malfunctioned.
The man had gone to the toilet soon after the SpiceJet plane took off from Mumbai at 10.55 pm on Monday, ahead of a 105-minute journey to the city of Bengaluru.
But when the passenger tried to unlock the door of the small toilet, he realized with horror that he could not get out after the lock malfunctioned.
The terrified passenger was trapped in the compact space for the entire flight – including landing – and was ‘traumatised’ by the claustrophobic conditions.
Desperate crew members had tried in vain to open the door after hearing the man’s frantic cries for help, but their efforts had proven unsuccessful.
Only after the plane landed in the city of Bengaluru at 3.42am on Tuesday were engineers able to board and pry open the door to let the passenger, who was ‘in shock’, out of the toilet. He then received first aid from doctors.
The man had gone to the toilet shortly after the SpiceJet plane took off from Mumbai at 10.55pm on Monday, ahead of a 105-minute journey to the city of Bengaluru (file image)
‘It was known that the passenger in the 14D seat had gone to the toilet shortly after take-off and the seat belt signs went out. Unfortunately, he got stuck inside when the toilet door malfunctioned,” said an unnamed official at the Bengaluru airport The times of India.
They added, “The poor guy flew from Mumbai to Bengaluru in the toilet and, shockingly, ended up stuck in the small toilet.
“The passenger was completely traumatized by claustrophobia.”
The official said crew members tried to open the jammed door after hearing the man’s screams, but without success. Just before the plane landed, a flight attendant slipped a note under the door, urging the passenger “not to panic” and to prepare for landing.
The note read: ‘Sir, we tried our best to open the door… Don’t panic. We’re landing in a few minutes, so please close the lid of the changing table, sit on it and strap yourself in. As soon as the main door is open, the technician will come.’
SpiceJet has since apologized, saying it regrets the “inconvenience caused to the passenger” and adding that the man has been given a full refund.
‘Throughout the journey, our crew assisted and guided the passenger. On arrival, an engineer opened the toilet door and the passenger received immediate medical attention,” a SpiceJet spokesperson told the BBC.
The incident came at the same time as frustrated passengers suffered a series of flight disruptions in India for the fourth day in a row today.
More than 100 flights were delayed and around 20 canceled across India due to dense fog in northern India.
Weather authorities predict five more days of fog, with minimum temperatures on Tuesday ranging from 2ºC to 5ºC in New Delhi, the capital, and the most populous state of Uttar Pradesh.
As many as 109 flights from Delhi airport were delayed and 19 were cancelled, aviation website Flightradar24 showed.
Poor visibility due to fog has caused widespread air traffic chaos this week, with hundreds of flights from New Delhi delayed or canceled.