Crappy landings.
A Philippine Airlines flight went down the toilet after crewmembers were forced to scoop poop mid-air due to a lavatory malfunction, as seen in a viral video.
The Boeing 777 had been flying from Los Angeles, California to Manila, Philippines on Jan. 11 when it suffered “an inflight lavatory malfunction,” airline reps said in a statement, Insider PH reported.
As a result, they were unable to flush the toilets on the nearly 15-hour flight, Live and Let’s Fly reported.
Reps said they were prepared to divert the flight, noting that a Guam airport — situated some six hours away — was ready to receive the aircraft and assist passengers and crew if necessary.
However, “after technical and operational assessment,” they ultimately decided to continue on to their destination.
To keep things flowing smoothly during the flight, attendants were instructed to manually remove the waste from the impacted lavatories.
In the revolting clip, a male air staffer is seen using a half of a drink cartoon to bail out the toilet and then dump the waste in the sink.
Thankfully, the rest of the trip was smooth sailing.
“Based on the crew’s final report, normal lavatory function was observed during final approach, and the flight was completed without further incident,” airline reps said. “We recognize that the situation caused inconvenience to our passengers and crew, and we appreciate their patience and understanding.”
They added, “Philippine Airlines acknowledges the professionalism and dedication of the flight and cabin crew in managing the situation in accordance with established procedures, with passenger welfare as the priority.”
The airline spokesperson said they were conducting an internal investigation to “establish facts,” adding that it would be “premature to comment on specific claims while this process is ongoing.”
However, the crappy situation didn’t sit well with crewmembers, who reported the incident to their union. They reportedly raised a stink that Philippine Airlines had prioritized punctuality and profits over the safety and comfort of passengers and crew, One Mile At A Time reported.
But was this “number two” option the best? Live and Let’s Fly contributor Matthew Klint said it was an unpleasant situation no matter how you slice it.
“If all lavatories fail and cannot flush, waste can accumulate quickly,” he wrote. “Simply closing the bathrooms is not viable on a long transpacific flight. Overflow is worse than controlled containment.”
He said that continuing the flight to their destination avoided a “multi-hour diversion” and potential overnight disruption, but acknowledged that “dealing with biohazard improvisation is not part of cabin crew training” — even if gloves and precautions were used.
Klint ultimately said he could see why someone might consider manual waste removal “the lesser evil” and “why it would fall on the flight crew to carry out that task.”
“Philippine Airlines now has the responsibility to determine whether the decision to continue was truly the least bad option and whether future protocols can better protect cabin crew,” Klint concluded. “That review, not social media outrage, is where the meaningful lessons will emerge.”
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