An Air India flight from Chicago to Delhi was required to reverse after 8 of the 12 toilets on the airplane were obstructed.
An examination discovered that the toilets were obstructed by polythene bags, rags and clothing that had actually been flushed down and stuck in the pipes, Air India stated in a declaration on Monday.
Flight AI126 had actually left the Chicago O’Hare global airport at 4.48 pm regional time on 5 March for a 14-hour journey to Delhi.
” About an hour and forty-five minutes into the flight, the team reported a few of the bathrooms in organization and economy class to be unserviceable,” it stated. “By this time, the airplane was overflying the Atlantic, leaving points in Europe as prospective cities to divert to. Nevertheless, due to limitations on night operations at many of the European airports, it was chosen to divert back to Chicago. The choice to divert was taken totally in the interest of guest convenience and security.”
Discovering no practical stopover alternatives, the aircraft, with almost 300 guests on board, reversed and landed in Chicago.
Tracking information from Flightradar24 revealed the aircraft was near Greenland when it reversed course, logging simply under 10 hours in the air.
” Passengers were offered instant support, consisting of hotel lodging and alternative flight alternatives to continue their journey to Delhi,” Air India stated.
The airline company stated that “8 out of 12 bathrooms in the airplane ended up being unserviceable, triggering pain to all on board”, triggering a dispute on social networks about the toilet rules of the guests.
While lots of people blamed guest behaviour, some criticised the airline company’s maintenance. One user composed on X: “Will the individual who felt obliged to flush their clothing down the toilet and the other individuals who do not trash their tissues on AI126 please stand and pay Air India for the diversion please?”
” My mommy when flew New York City to DEL on an Air India aircraft that was dripping toilet water into the aisle,” a Reddit user grumbled. “So, yes this is typical.”
Another commented: “At this moment, it is on individuals who fly on AI particularly on global sectors. I comprehend it may be hassle-free for elderly people and folks with kids to take a continuously however seriously think of the benefit being used here.”
A Reddit user declaring to have actually been on the flight stated: “Obviously the team learnt about it however chose to remove. Then the captain did not reveal that the flight was returning back. Some guests saw it on the screen flight map and raised the problem.”
Another social networks user criticised the airline company: “Inform me its AI, without informing me it’s AI.”
” My household flew AI a month back from ORD to DEL, and they informed me just 4 toilets were working. So, in a whole month, they didn’t trouble repairing the airplane,” one Reddit user declared. “That’s a 15-hour flight and after simply 4 to 5 hours, the staying toilets were entirely unusable. We had a young child who required to utilize the restroom, and no quantity of sanitiser or face masks might offset the unhygienic conditions. After showing up in India, they wound up hospitalised for 2 weeks. I had a comparable experience recently on my DEL-IAD flight. I took photos and videos and will be publishing them here and on X quickly.”
The Independent has actually connected to Tata Group, which owns Air India, for remark.
The airline company advised visitors to utilize aircraft bathrooms effectively. “While not discovered on AI126 of 5 March 2025, our groups have actually formerly likewise discovered things such as blankets, innerwear, and diapers, to name a few waste, having actually been flushed down the toilets on other flights.”
Concerns with toilets have actually required numerous flights to make emergency situation landings for many years. In 2017, an Air India flight from Delhi to Chicago saw all its working toilets head out of usage mid-flight, presumably due to guests flushing plastic bottles and hygienic products.
A year previously, an Air India flight from Newark to Mumbai needed to land in Istanbul after all its toilets stopped operating.
More just recently, an Air France flight was diverted to Brazil and a United Airlines flight reversed to Germany due to comparable pipes failures.
In 2023, an Austrian Airlines aircraft went back to Vienna after the majority of its toilets ended up being unusable.
Tata Group reclaimed control of Air India after almost 69 years in 2022. Tata had actually established the airline company in 1932, however it was nationalised in 1953.