Flight forced to turn back after passenger gets stuck in toilet

A United Airlines flight has been diverted after a passenger became trapped in the toilet, which, we are sure, was just as much of a nightmare as it sounds.

The flight was en route from Washington DC to San Francisco on Wednesday when it was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Denver, where the passenger was freed upon landing.

United Airlines confirmed in a statement to Travel Weekly that flight 1554 was diverted to assist a passenger “who was in the lavatory when the lavatory door became inoperative.”

“The passenger was safely removed from the lavatory after landing, and customers have since continued on to their destination on a new aircraft,” the statement said.

A video originally posted by Twitter user @taylorkkimber has gone viral, showing a mechanic attempting to open the toilet door.

“We’re just working on opening the door at the moment ma’am; we’ll get you out soon, okay,” one man is heard saying in the video.

Firefighters attempt to free passenger stuck in plane lavatory
h/t @taylorkkimber pic.twitter.com/c6HDnSPjNC
— GuruLeaks (@Guruleaks1) September 26, 2019

A passenger on the plane, Jennifer Gettman, told KPIX-TV that the trapped woman “seemed fine” once she was freed.

“Everyone clapped, the woman came out, they all felt very bad for her,” Gettman.

“I mean, I don’t know how she was with landing in the bathroom, but she was fine.”

It’s being reported that the woman was trapped in the bathroom for over an hour.

United Airlines told Travel Weekly the airline is reaching out to all customers on board, including “the customer in the lavatory” to apologise.

This comes after a Qantas flight was forced to land with a woman locked inside the lavatory in June, despite pleas from the cabin crew to return to her seat.

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

divert toilet trapped united