ATLANTA- Delta Air Lines (DL) flight DL194, en route from Atlanta (ATL) to Barcelona (BCN), had to make an unexpected turnaround on Friday night after a passenger experienced a severe bout of diarrhea that affected the entire aircraft.
The Airbus A350 had been flying for two hours towards Spain when the pilot communicated to air traffic control about a “biohazard issue” that required an immediate return, flagged Viewfromthewing.
Delta A350 Biohazard Issue
The incident occurred over Virginia, prompting the airline to instruct the pilots to head back to Atlanta. Upon landing, passengers were required to disembark.
At the same time, Delta thoroughly cleaned the aircraft and assembled a new crew, as the original crew had exceeded their duty hours. The same plane was used for the rescheduled departure at 2:57 a.m. on Saturday morning.
This unexpected diversion caused an eight-hour delay, and passengers eventually reached Barcelona at 5:10 p.m.
The FAA flight strip documented the reason for the diversion as “Divert to ATL — passenger diarrhea all over aircraft — biohazard,” which was corroborated by air traffic control communications, with one controller stating, “It’s just a biohazard issue, we had a passenger who had diarrhea all the way through the airplane.”
Viewfromthewing further writes, “If I were the aircraft’s captain, I might have found it frustrating when air traffic control informed me that I was second in line for landing. Interestingly, it happened at Washington National Airport rather than Atlanta, which is known for Ben’s Chili Bowl.”
Personally, I might have preferred a longer delay to ensure a more thorough cleaning of the aircraft.
“However, since I haven’t seen any photos of the incident or heard complaints from passengers about lingering stains, it’s possible that the ‘biohazard’ was adequately addressed. Surprisingly, this is not the first instance where a passenger’s restroom mishap led to a diversion for a U.S. airline.”
Other Turbulence Incident
The flight lasted 9 hours and 47 minutes and proceeded uneventfully until the approach phase. Approximately 40 miles northeast of Atlanta, the aircraft encountered a bout of severe turbulence.
Out of the total 151 passengers and 14 crew members on board, 11 individuals sustained injuries as a result.
The flight lasted 9 hours and 47 minutes and proceeded uneventfully until the approach phase. Approximately 40 miles northeast of Atlanta, the aircraft encountered a bout of severe turbulence.
Out of the total 151 passengers and 14 crew members on board, 11 individuals sustained injuries as a result.
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