SpiceJet Under Fire After Passenger Gets Stuck in Bathroom for Entire Flight

A SpiceJet passenger found himself locked inside the lavatory as he went to use it. As an unfortunate addition to this debacle, the crew could not open the door in flight despite their best efforts, leaving the passenger stuck inside for most of the flight.

Locked in the Lavatory

Earlier this week, SpiceJet flight 268 from Mumbai (BOM) to Bengaluru (BLR) departed after a three-hour delay. Data from Flightradar24 shows that SG-268 has been delayed daily for multiple days, with the typical delay being between two to three hours. On January 16, the flight departed shortly after 2:00 a.m. local time, three hours later than its scheduled 10:55 p.m. departure. It was operated by a Boeing 737-800, with aircraft registration VT-SGV.

Shortly after departure, an unnamed passenger from seat 14D got up to use the lavatory on the front left-hand side of the aircraft. However, when trying to exit the bathroom, the passenger realized he could not get out for some odd reason. According to a SpicetJet representative, this was due to an unforeseen door lock malfunction that trapped the individual inside for the rest of the flight. It is unclear how this problem only arose on this particular flight and how no passengers on prior flights suffered issues with unlocking the lavatory door. 

The cabin crew soon became aware of the individual's predicament when they heard him reportedly shouting to try and get out. Aircraft lavatories have a mechanism where the cabin crew can unlock the door from the outside in case of an emergency. However, this method did not work in this situation. After multiple failed attempts to open the door, the crew resorted to sending a note to the passenger to calm them down.

The crew managed to slide the note under the door to the passenger, and it read the following:

"Sir, we tried our best to open the door. However, we could not open [it]. Do not panic, we are landing in a few minutes. So please close the commode [toilet] lid and sit on it and secure yourself. As soon as the main door is open, [the] engineer will come. Do not panic."

Freedom at Last

Upon arrival in Bengaluru, SpiceJet technicians arrived onboard and unlocked the door. The passenger disembarked without issue. SpiceJet has expressed regret for this unusual incident and has confirmed that the passenger will receive a full refund for the flight.

The individual has spoken to local media about this incident, sharing the following:

"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. But I received no medical help even after coming out of the loo. I got a bottle of water and a barrage of apologies from SpiceJet."

There are no good ways to secure oneself inside an aircraft lavatory. Despite sitting on the toilet, no seatbelts (understandably) are present to keep a passenger strapped in. There are safety handles to hold onto; however, there are no restraints. The door issue was resolved during the aircraft's layover in Bengaluru. The delays did not improve, with the aircraft departing two hours late after arriving three hours late from Mumbai.