Passengers were caught short on a long haul when the loos went out of order one by one. Photo / Miguel Angel Sanz, Unsplash
Passengers were caught short on a long haul when the loos went out of order one by one. Photo / Miguel Angel Sanz, Unsplash
It seems that a transatlantic flight went down the loo after the bathrooms experienced some functional issues.
On Monday, KLM Flight KL601 was flying from Amsterdam (AMS) to Los Angeles (LAX) when the incident occurred, according to One Mile At A Time.
The 9.50am flight was pushedback and ended up taking off from Schiphol Airport at 10.28am. The flight then began its intended 10 hour-plus journey across the Atlantic Ocean. However, things took a turn for the worst when the toilets started to malfunction.
Around 70 minutes into the journey, the flight crew decided to return to Amsterdam, and the plane began making a 180 degree turn. However, the pilot then backtracked and the plane continued on its journey.
The plane continued travelling towards the United States for around two more hours. However, once the plane was flying over Greenland, the pilots made the decision to turn around a second time and head back to Amsterdam. The flight eventually landed back in Amsterdam exactly six-and-a-half hours after it had left.
@SecretaryPete, @KLM#KL601 diverts back to AMS over the North Sea with no bathrooms. When 1 bathroom starts working, captain decides to resume his flight to LAX. 1 bathroom is the same as none. Do the math, not enough time in 10 hrs for everyone to go. @CNN@carlquintanillapic.twitter.com/L6Hitn4yYd
Reports revealed that there were problems with the plane’s bathrooms. According to one passenger on the flight, all nine of the aircraft’s bathrooms stopped working, which prompted the pilots’ decision to return to Amsterdam.
However, according to the same passenger, one bathroom then began working, so the cabin crew made the decision to keep on track towards L.A.
For a reason not yet known, the pilots decided to turn around after flying an additional two hours.
No one is entirely sure what was going on in the cockpit and cabin, and exactly how many bathrooms were out of order at this point.
It seems that a transatlantic flight went down the loo after the bathrooms experienced some functional issues.
A lose-lose situation
While it is not practical for up to 344 passengers to share one bathroom, it also is a huge waste of time and resources to decide to go back over airplane toilets, especially when you’ve already travelled a good distance to your destination.
The most frustrating aspect of the transatlantic turnaround is the fact that the crew was going to return to Amsterdam just over an hour into the journey, but made the decision to continue on. If the flight had just turned around then, the flight time would have been just over two hours, rather than well over six hours.
What’s more, the journey was likely unpleasant for all on board, with just one toilet.
There are a number of reasons why the plane decided to turn around when it did.
It’s possible that the crew couldn’t complete the flight, per their contract, which would’ve meant the plane and passengers would have been stuck at an airport that KLM potentially doesn’t even work with.
It’s also a possibility that the problem couldn’t have been fixed fast, which would’ve meant that everyone had to be accommodated at a non-hub airport, which has its own complications.
While the turnaround decision seems inefficient, often the lesser of evils is to have a plane fly back to its hub where you have the right staff, a spare aircraft, and can accommodate passengers easily.
