Urge passengers to use lavatories only for purposes they are meant for: Air India

After it faced severe social media backlash for clogged toilets in a flight from Chicago to Delhi which was turned back after spending 10 hours in the air, Air India has issued a statement urging passengers to “Use lavatories only for the purposes that they are meant for.”

The airline has further mentioned that upon investigation it found out that passengers had flushed polythene bags, rags, and clothes leading to clogged pipes and overflowing toilets. The airline has also released pictures showing bags containing waste cleared from the toilets. One photograph also showed a crew member holding a drainage pipe completely stuffed with rags.

The Air India Flight AI 216 took off from Chicago but was forced to turn back after eight of its 12 toilets were found to be clogged (initial reports claimed 11 toilets blocked). A Chicago -Delhi flight had to return to the US on March 5 after eight lavatories on the Boeing 777 became unserviceable. The airline faced flak for poor maintainable of sanitation facilities on its planes and being indifferent to basic needs of its passengers.

Polythene bags, rags, and clothes flushed down: Air India

“We are aware of some social media posts about the unserviceable lavatories on AI 126 operating Chicago to Delhi on March 5, 2025, that caused the flight’s diversion back to its origin, Chicago…. as part of our investigation into the incident, our teams found polythene bags, rags, and clothes that had been flushed down and stuck in the plumbing. This led the lavatories to become unserviceable,” Air India revealed in a statement.

The decision to turn back was made around four-and-a-half hours into the flight when the plane was flying over Greenland. The return took an equal amount of time, resulting in a 10-hour ordeal for over 300 passengers onboard the flight.

The airline has released a statement which says, “While we fully empathise with passengers who faced discomfort and whose travel plans have been affected by the flight’s diversion, we would like to put forth the following facts about the flight. The flight departed in time at 1648 Hrs (UTC). About an hour and forty-five minutes into the flight, the crew reported some of the lavatories in business and economy class to be unserviceable. Subsequently, eight of the 12 lavatories in the aircraft became unserviceable, causing discomfort to all on board. By this time, the aircraft was overflying the Atlantic, leaving points in Europe as potential cities to divert to. However, due to restrictions on night operations at most of the European airports, it was decided to divert back to Chicago.”

Decision to divert taken for passenger comfort and safety: Air India

Air India further informed, “The decision to divert was taken entirely in the interest of passenger comfort and safety. Upon landing at Chicago, all passengers were provided immediate assistance, including hotel accommodation and alternative flight options to continue their journey to Delhi. While not found on AI 126 of 05 March 2025, our teams have previously also found objects such as blankets, innerwear, and diapers, among other waste, having been flushed down the toilets on other flights. We take this opportunity to urge passengers to use lavatories only for the purposes that they are meant for.”