He’s flushed with anger.
The SpiceJet passenger who was trapped inside the bathroom for almost the entire duration of a flight has complained that he was hurt during landing and received no medical help.
The unnamed 37-year-old software techie spent nearly 100 minutes confined in the Indian budget airline’s commode on a flight from Mumbai to Bengaluru on Tuesday.
Newly emerged video shows the flummoxed flyer trying to open the door while sitting on the commode in the cramped toilet. The handle is seen moving as a crew member tries to open the door.
“I was traumatized, dazed and injured as I was thrown around inside the toilet. As the plane landed in Bengaluru, there was no medical assistance at all,” the man told the Times of India.
The Koramangala resident said SpiceJet offered him a voucher for the equivalent of $60 for the crappy flight but that he turned it down and plans to sue the airline.
5 The SpiceJet passenger who was stuck inside the lavatory for almost the entire flight claimed he was injured during the landing and received no medical assistance.
5 The SpiceJet passenger who was stuck inside the lavatory for almost the entire flight claimed he was injured during the landing and received no medical assistance.
He also said he filed a complaint with India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation.
The passenger was returning to Bengaluru after meeting his family in Mumbai, according to the news outlet.
“Soon after the flight took off at 2:10 a.m. Tuesday, I went to use the lavatory on the front left side of the plane,” he said. “Within minutes, I realized that something was wrong with the lock and I tried to open it.”
5 The crew members slid a note under the door to try to calm the commode captive.
He said he managed to draw the attention of the crew, who tried to open the faulty door.
“It was getting scarier by the minute,” he told the newspaper.
SpiceJet sources told the outlet that the cabin crew realized that the door was jammed and that they slid the man a note asking him not to panic.
“Sir we tried our best to open the door, however, we could not open [it],” the letter read. “Do not panic. We are landing in a few minutes, so please close the commode lid and sit on it and secure yourself. As soon as the main door is open, an engineer will come.”
5 SpiceJet said the passenger received “assistance and guidance” as well as “immediate medical support.” REUTERS
The unbuckled captive said he was hurt when the plane landed.
“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,” he told the outlet.
“But I received no medical help even after coming out of the loo. I got a bottle of water and barrage of apologies from SpiceJet,” the man reportedly said, adding that airline staffers put him in a cab and sent him home despite his request to lodge a formal complaint.
5 The airline said it reimbursed the passenger for the flight. Nasir Kachroo/NurPhoto/Shutterstock
A ground employee told the outlet that an engineer boarded the plane after all the passengers had disembarked.
“He was still trapped inside the cramped toilet. The landing was horrific as he was seated on the commode,” the worker said.
SpiceJet told the Times of India that the crew “provided assistance and guidance to the passenger. Upon arrival, an engineer opened the lavatory door and the passenger received immediate medical support.
“SpiceJet apologizes for the inconvenience caused to the passenger,” it said, adding that he would be provided “a full refund.”
One-way flights on the 600 route typically cost about $40, a search of the airliner’s website revealed.
Passenger trapped in plane toilet says he was hurt in landing
