A Virgin Australia plane bound for Sydney was forced back to Los Angeles due to leaking sinks, the airline said Tuesday, but denied passenger claims that human waste reached the aisles.
Flight VA2 was heading to Sydney, from where it would continue to Christchurch in New Zealand, early on Tuesday when the problem occurred.
“In accordance with standard operating procedures, the captain made the decision to return to port as a precautionary measure after two of the sinks on board were leaking,” the airline said in a statement.
Travellers claimed that toilet waste was making its way down the aisle and was visible from their seats. However the company said that the assertions are “completely incorrect”.
Passenger Julia Malley, talking to New Zealand radio show host Chris Lynch on Newstalk ZB, said: “The bathroom just exploded, I’m not even exaggerating.”
Within five minutes of takeoff, the whole plane was filled with an “overwhelming smell” and flight crew announced that they were turning back to Los Angeles three hours into the flight, she said on-air from a hotel room in California.