A €300,000 poo
Emergency Return to Heathrow!
Last Thursday evening (12th of mars, 2015), the British Airways flight departing from London Heathrow has been rerouted to Brussel 30 min after its take off. The reason: an insane smell flowing out from the toilets and spread into the plane cabin. Due to the strength of the fool odour and regarding the remaining flight time, the captain should have come back to Heathrow.
Here is one cristal clear tweet from a passenger which illustrates the situation in the cabin:
Insane! Our BA flight to Dubai returned back to Heathrow because of a smelly poo in the toilet! 15hrs until next flight… #britishairways
— Abhishek Sachdev (@CllrAbhiSach) March 12, 2015
A health and safety return
Let’s be honest, the story sounds funny, but the airline doesn’t feel the same, nor the passenger. A rerouted flight is a synonym of pure loss for the company. But, in that case, the Telegraph says the pilot would have declared to passengers during the flight “it’s not a technical fault with the plane, and he was very adamant about that”. Consequently, as the passenger finally departed 15h late, the 261-2004 article of European Regulation could fully apply. That means each passenger could claim a compensation for this delay.
An expensive diversion?
In this precise case, the destination of the flight was Dubaï (a more than 3500km), passengers are entitled to a €600 indemnification per person. As the plane used was a Boeing 747 Boeing 747, which could carry 366 to 524 passengers, this misadventure could cost to British Airways, at least in indemnifications, more than 300 000€. Only 7% of entitled people usually does it but no doubt that British Airways currently squeeze its chicks…