Passenger locked in a tiny plane bathroom claims he was tossed around and suffered injuries as it landed, report says
Jan 21, 2024, 03:28 IST
- After the plane lavatory's lock malfunctioned, a man was trapped inside during a flight.
- He said he was "traumatized" and injured when the plane landed with him still in the restroom.
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A passenger who was stuck in a plane bathroom for most of a flight said the incident left him "traumatized."
The man was traveling on a SpiceJet flight from Mumbai, India, to Bengaluru, India, when he became locked in the restroom because the door lock malfunctioned.The 37-year-old man, who was not named, told The Times of India that he plans to sue the airline and lodge a complaint with the Indian aviation-regulatory authority."I was traumatised, dazed, and injured as I was thrown around inside the toilet as the plane landed in Bengaluru. There was no medical assistance at all," he told the outlet.The man was stuck inside the lavatory for about an hour of the hour-and-45-minute flight, and engineers freed him upon landing, the BBC previously reported."I managed to draw the attention of the crew, who tried to open the door. It was getting scarier every minute," the passenger told The Times of India.The cabin crew communicated with him by slipping a handwritten note under the door telling him: "Sir we tried our best to open the door, however we could not open."The note, posted on X, told the passenger, "Do not panic" and asked him to sit on the closed commode lid and "secure yourself" before landing.The man claims he was injured as the plane landed and said he was just given a bottle of water and no medical assistance upon arrival.
"During landing, I was thrown around and suffered injuries. It took 20 minutes for someone to start breaking open the door. When I came out, I had bruises, and my vision was blurred for a while," he said.He said SpiceJet offered him 5,000 Indian rupees, or about $60, as compensation, but he didn't accept it.SpiceJet countered his claims, telling The Times of India that the crew gave him "assistance and guidance" and that he "received immediate medical support" after an engineer opened the bathroom door."SpiceJet apologises for the inconvenience caused to the passenger. The passenger is being provided a full refund," an airline spokesperson said.SpiceJet did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.