Another plane U-turned over the Atlantic after half its bathrooms stopped working
A flight from Zurich to Washington, DC, returned home after half its bathrooms stopped working.
The airline found a replacement aircraft, so the 220 passengers were delayed less than 5 hours.
It's the second time this month that a plumbing problem has caused a flight to nowhere.
A flight from Switzerland to Washington, DC, had to divert after half the plane's bathrooms stopped working due to a plumbing problem.
According to data from Flightradar24, Sunday's Swiss International Air Lines Flight 76 turned around over the English Channel — the arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates Britain and France — about an hour into the journey.
The Airbus A330 landed back in Zurich about two and a half hours after taking off from there, becoming a so-called flight to nowhere.
An airline spokesperson told Business Insider there was a blockage in a toilet pipe. This meant all the toilets on the left-hand side of the plane were rendered unusable as they have an interconnected system.
"With 220 passengers on board, continuing the flight was unfortunately not an option," they added.
The airline's dispatch center "immediately organized a replacement aircraft with a new crew," the spokesperson said. This meant the passengers landed in Washington, DC, with a delay of just under five hours.
While flights to nowhere can be frustrating for passengers, this incident shows how returning to a hub airport can provide better solutions than continuing.
It is easier for airlines to reroute passengers, find new crew, and repair any issues at one of their hub airports than if they divert somewhere closer to the destination.
"Such a delay is of course very annoying for our passengers and we would like to apologize again for the inconvenience," the airline spokesperson said.
"In such situations, we do everything we can to get our passengers to their destination as quickly as possible," they added. "This is always our top priority."
This is the second time this month that a flight has turned around due to faulty bathrooms.
An Air India flight returned to Chicago in a nine-hour ordeal after bags, rags, and clothes had been flushed down toilets and clogged the Boeing 777's plumbing.
Read the original article on Business Insider
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
137 passengers endured 4 stops and an overnight stay, only to end up back where they started 32 hours later
A flight operated by German airline Condor made four stops before ending up back in Zurich. It failed three times to land on the Greek island of Crete due to strong winds. Passengers were also transported to another Greek city where they stayed overnight. After several diversions and an overnight stay, 137 passengers flying with German airline Condor ended up back where they started in a 32-hour ordeal. Flight 1234 took off from Zurich on May 24 and was supposed to land in Heraklion, on the Greek island of Crete, about two-and-a-half hours later. However, after circling off the coast half a dozen times, it U-turned to land in the Greek capital, Athens, instead, according to data from Flightradar24. It would be the first of three failed attempts to land in Heraklion. A Condor spokesperson told Business Insider that "extreme weather conditions with strong winds" meant takeoffs and landings were limited at the airport. After two hours in the Greek capital, the Airbus A320 pilots made a second attempt. Flightradar24 data shows the plane again circled over the Aegean Sea before diverting to Kos, another Greek island, in a one-and-a-half-hour escapade. After another one-and-a-half hours on the ground, the A320 flew an hour north to Thessaloniki, where passengers stayed overnight. In the morning, the pilots made a final attempt to reach Heraklion. They again had to circle off the coast for half an hour before diverting once more to Athens. A couple of hours later, the plane left Greece for Zurich. It landed shortly before 3 p.m. local time — 32 hours after passengers first departed the Swiss city. The Condor spokesperson told BI that all passengers were served refreshments and drinks on board the flight. "We sincerely apologize to all affected guests for the inconveniences caused by this," they added. "The safety of all guests and crew members is Condor's top priority at all times, as in this case as well." They also asked that all the passengers contact customer service for refund and rebooking options. It's not especially unusual for flights to return to their origins, as this typically makes it easier for airlines to reroute passengers or find replacement crew members after lengthy diversions. For example, last Monday, a Swiss International Air Lines flight turned around over the Atlantic Ocean and returned to Zurich due to an engine issue. However, it is rare to see a flight divert several times before ultimately returning to its origin, as in the Condor incident. Were you on this flight? Do you have a story to share about another recent flight diversion? Contact this reporter at psyme@ Read the original article on Business Insider
Business Insider
11 hours ago
- Business Insider
137 passengers endured 4 stops and an overnight stay, only to end up back where they started 32 hours later
After several diversions and an overnight stay, 137 passengers flying with German airline Condor ended up back where they started in a 32-hour ordeal. Flight 1234 took off from Zurich on May 24 and was supposed to land in Heraklion, on the Greek island of Crete, about two-and-a-half hours later. However, after circling off the coast half a dozen times, it U-turned to land in the Greek capital, Athens, instead, according to data from Flightradar24. It would be the first of three failed attempts to land in Heraklion. A Condor spokesperson told Business Insider that "extreme weather conditions with strong winds" meant takeoffs and landings were limited at the airport. After two hours in the Greek capital, the Airbus A320 pilots made a second attempt. Flightradar24 data shows the plane again circled over the Aegean Sea before diverting to Kos, another Greek island, in a one-and-a-half-hour escapade. After another one-and-a-half hours on the ground, the A320 flew an hour north to Thessaloniki, where passengers stayed overnight. In the morning, the pilots made a final attempt to reach Heraklion. They again had to circle off the coast for half an hour before diverting once more to Athens. A couple of hours later, the plane left Greece for Zurich. It landed shortly before 3 p.m. local time — 32 hours after passengers first departed the Swiss city. The Condor spokesperson told BI that all passengers were served refreshments and drinks on board the flight. "We sincerely apologize to all affected guests for the inconveniences caused by this," they added. "The safety of all guests and crew members is Condor's top priority at all times, as in this case as well." They also asked that all the passengers contact customer service for refund and rebooking options. It's not especially unusual for flights to return to their origins, as this typically makes it easier for airlines to reroute passengers or find replacement crew members after lengthy diversions. For example, last Monday, a Swiss International Air Lines flight turned around over the Atlantic Ocean and returned to Zurich due to an engine issue. However, it is rare to see a flight divert several times before ultimately returning to its origin, as in the Condor incident. psyme@
Bloomberg
15 hours ago
- Bloomberg
Will Air India Make a Global Comeback?
Air India is undergoing a massive transformation, riding on hopes of luring more passengers and seeking to compete with global heavyweights like Emirates. (Source: Bloomberg)
