A Delta Air Lines scheduled flight operating from Atlanta to Barcelona, Spain has been forced to make a return to the departure airport after what was reported as a “biohazard issue” after passenger suffered severe diarrhoea on board.
Delta flight DL194 was operating the transatlantic route on Friday evening September 1 and was approximately two hours into the flight when the operating crew requested a return to Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport (ATL).
Flight data shows that the aircraft, an Airbus A350-900 widebody, was established on flight plan track for Barcelona and in Virginia airspace when the decision was made to make a precautionary return to Atlanta.
Audio recordings of the exchange between the flight deck and air traffic control has what appears to be a communication from the flight crew member referring to the onboard incident as a “biohazard issue”, and continuing:
“We’ve had a passenger who’s had diarrhoea all the way through the airplane, so they want us to come back to Atlanta.”
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Anecdotal reports from passengers aboard the flight suggest that the clean-up was extensive. It is understood that the aircraft was cleaned at the Atlanta hub before it went on to complete the long haul flight to Barcelona the following day.
According to UK news source the BBC, Delta Air Lines confirmed the “medical issue” onboard the flight, adding:
“Our teams worked as quickly and safely as possible to thoroughly clean the airplane and get our customers to their final destination. We sincerely apologise to our customers for the delay and inconvenience to their travel plans.”
What do you think of the diarrhoea chaos on the Delta flight that had to return to Atlanta?
UPDATE #1 6/9/23 @ 0953 UK time – Video footage has surfaced from onboard the plane where the diarrhoea-based incident occurred.
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