A Delta flight en route from Atlanta to Barcelona had to make an emergency return and landing due to a passenger who experienced severe gastrointestinal distress, resulting in a rather messy situation on board.
The incident occurred on an Airbus A350 aircraft, approximately two hours into its transatlantic journey from Georgia to Spain. The pilot, addressing air traffic control as captured on LiveATC.com, explained the situation, stating, “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
Although the identity of the afflicted passenger remains unknown, both passengers and crew were relocated. Eventually, Flight DL194 reached Barcelona at 5:10 p.m. the following day, eight hours later than originally scheduled, according to Flightradar24. It remains unclear whether the passenger responsible for the incident was aboard the plane when it arrived in Spain.
An alleged FAA flight strip, shared on Reddit, appeared to corroborate the “biohazard” situation in the aircraft. Cleaning crews were able to thoroughly sanitize the plane upon its return to Atlanta, as flight records indicate it was subsequently used for another flight.
Delta officials confirmed that a “medical issue” had occurred on the plane. However, the company did not provide specific details regarding the medical incident.
“Our teams worked as quickly and safely as possible to thoroughly clean the airplane and get our customers to their final destination,” the airline said in a statement. “We sincerely apologize to our customers for the delay and inconvenience to their travel plans.”
