Delta Flight DL194, which was scheduled to fly from Atlanta to Barcelona, had to reverse its course after a traveler on board had an accident involving soiling themselves. Audio recordings state that there was a health-related issue that necessitated the aircraft to turn back.
What was the “Biohazard Issue” on Delta Flight?
An aviation enthusiast recorded an audio transmission from the flight deck which was posted on X. The pilot mentioned that there was a biohazard concern caused by a passenger who had experienced diarrhea during the entire flight, prompting them to return to Atlanta.
“This is a biohazard issue. We’ve had a passenger who’s had diarrhea all the way through the airplane, so they want us to come back to Atlanta.”
A Delta Airlines Airbus A350 turned around back to Atlanta Friday night because of diarrhea throughout the airplane from a passenger and it’s a biohazard. 👀🥴
The FAA flight strip for DL194 was posted to Reddit (📷xStang05x) Also a passenger posted here asking why her son’s… pic.twitter.com/VWbkB47wF1
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) September 3, 2023
The flight from Atlanta, Georgia to Barcelona had been in progress for two hours when it was forced to make a U-turn. Since there were six more hours to go before the flight could reach its destination, the pilot was forced to make an emergency landing.
The Airbus A350 departed as scheduled on the night of September 1, with 336 passengers on board. The passenger who caused the incident has not been identified, and all passengers and crew had to be switched to a different flight.
The plane, after returning to Atlanta, was given a thorough clean, so that passengers could reboard it for the journey to Barcelona. This meant that the flight was eight hours behind the planned schedule. Whether the passenger who had the digestive problem was on the plane when it arrived in Spain is still unknown.
Delta flight spokesperson apologized for the delay and inconvenience to its passengers.
”Delta flight 194 on Sept. 1 from Atlanta to Barcelona returned to Atlanta following an onboard medical issue. Our teams worked as quickly and safely as possible to thoroughly clean the airplane and get our customers to their final destination. We sincerely apologize to our customers for the delay and inconvenience to their travel plans.”
A number of people on X, formerly Twitter, said that they were passengers on the flight, or had acquaintances who were and gave additional information.
One user wrote,
“My partner was on that flight! It was pretty bad. It was dribbled down the aisle, smelled horrible. The vanilla scented disinfectant used on it only made it smell like vanilla s***. After the plane landed, it was thoroughly cleaned. They didn’t leave until around 2:30 am.”
Another added,
“Both my wife and I were on the flight. It was a mess. The pilots made the right decision to turn around. The ground crew ripped out the carpet and put new in. Considering the circumstances, the ground crew did a great job, along the attendants and the pilots.”
