
It is not only the fog that is wreaking havoc on passengers travelling by air as a stubborn toilet door recently caused a frenzy for a male passenger who was onboard a flight from India's Mumbai to Bengaluru. In a bizarre incident aboard a SpiceJet flight, the man found himself trapped in a loo with a malfunctioned door that did not open for almost 100 minutes.
The harrowing eventunfolded on flight SG-268, which departed from Mumbai airport at 2 am on Tuesday (Jan 16), though it was scheduled for takeoff at 10.55 pm on Monday (Jan 15).
When the crew got to know about the flight's stuck-up door, they rushed in a bid to unlock it, however, they failed to do so. This happened as the flight was nearing its destination in India's southern state of Karnataka."It was known that the passenger on 14D seat had gone to the toilet soon after the takeoff and the seatbelt signs went off. Sadly, he got trapped inside as the toilet door malfunctioned," a ground staffer at KIA reportedly said.
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The crew members, after trying to open the loo door, finally felt that it was not achievable without the help of engineers. The passenger all this time was inside the small toilet, the tiny enclosed space that can make many people worried and claustrophobic.
In what can be seen as an attempt to pacify the trapped passenger, an air hostess wrote a reassuring note on brown paper and slid it into the loo for the passenger to read.
The letter had updates on the ongoing efforts to resolve the door issues.
The message read, "Sir, we tried our best to open the door, however, we could not. 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, an engineer will come."
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An airport official in Bengaluru reportedly said,"The poor man flew from Mumbai to Bengaluru inside the toilet and, shockingly, landed trapped inside the tiny lavatory."
After the incident, which caused a stir inside the flight, the plane finally landed at its destinationat Kempegowda International Airport (KIA). The flight touched down at 3.42 am on Tuesday (Jan 16).
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The engineers boarded the plane swiftly.
A two-hour ordeal,which started when the passenger found that he was unable to open the toilet door, was successfully brought to an end after the engineers broke open the door.The distressed passenger was finally rescued.
Following the rescue, the man was promptly taken for first aid, a media outlet said quoting an officer. "The passenger was totally traumatised due to claustrophobia."
(With inputs from agencies)