British Airways and the ‘smelly poo’

Yes well, sorry, but that how the BBC described it and if it’s good enough for the BBC, it’s good enough for JAQUO. This is because of the news story that broke on March 12th, 2015.

A British Airways flight from London to Dubai had been in the air for about half an hour. The captain put out a call saying that he needed to see a ‘senior member’ of the cabin crew.

Ten minutes or so after that, he announced to the passengers ‘You may have noticed there’s a quite pungent smell coming from one of the toilets’.

He then informed the passengers that the plane would return to Heathrow so that the matter could be dealt with.

This, incidentally, is absolutely true .It is not April 1st. I am not making this up.

Did you do the smelly poo?

Can you imagine what it must have been like on that plane? (Quite apart from the pong, that is). I don’t know about you but I would have been looking around at all the passengers to see if anyone was blushing.

And what about the poor bloke who was responsible? (I remain firmly convinced that it wasn’t a member of what is known as the ‘fairer sex’ who made the embarrassing deposit).

You have to feel for him really. His (bowel) movements are splashed (is that the right word?) all over the BBC and now (even more momentously) all over JAQUO.

Imagine being single-handedly (single-bottomedly?) being responsible for a full aircraft being forced to turn back to base simply because you overdid the curry the night before.

Imagine the poor chap sitting there whilst the captain made his announcement and everyone peered around their seats looking to see who looked guilty; presumably holding their noses at the same time.

I sympathise with the passengers. The flight from London to Dubai takes seven hours. As an English person living in Florida I have taken goodness knows how many eight hour flights hither and thither between the two countries and they can be uncomfortable. Bawling babies pale into insignificance when compared to an evil pong. Earplugs exists; nose plugs don’t.

An airline spokesperson said that the aircraft was obliged to return to London because the smelly poo was a health and safety issue.

Passengers were allocated rooms in a hotel near Heathrow and took a flight to Dubai seventeen hours later. I admit that I worry a little about the technology. Aircraft that are designed to transport hundreds of passengers in supposed comfort, safely and securely, can’t even make their loos pong-proof?

Now, because the plane had only been in the air for about half an hour, can the in-flight catering be responsible, I wonder?

Of course, the twitterati leapt on it 🙂

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

 ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jackie Jackson, also known online as BritFlorida, is a highly experienced designer and writer. British born and now living in the USA, she specialises in lifestyle issues, design and quirky stories. You can see a wide range of articles here, or visit her website Tastes Magazine. See The Writer’s Door for more information.