Air India mentioned that it had flushed polythene bags, rags, and clothes into the toilet, which had clogged it and rendered it “unserviceable.” Air India, in a statement, on Monday reported that the flushed polythene bags, rags, and clothes had jammed the toilet and caused it “to become unserviceable” in the Chicago-Delhi Flight, prompting it to fly back.
We are aware of certain social media messages regarding the inoperative lavatories on AI126 flying from Chicago to Delhi on 05 March 2025 that led to the diversion of the flight back to its point of origin, Chicago O’Hare International Airport,” stated Air India in a release.
We would like to reassure you that as part of our probe into the incident, our crew members discovered polythene bags, rags, and clothes flushed down and clogged in the plumbing. This caused the lavatories to become unserviceable. We understand fully passengers who were inconvenienced and whose travel schedules have been disrupted by the diversion of the flight,” stated the airline.
Air India Flight AI126 passengers had to turn back from Chicago, the United States of America, following a 10-hour trip since some of the lavatories onboard were plugged up.
Confirming the turnabout of the aircraft to Chicago O’Hare International Airport, the airline reported that the flight was confronted by a “technical problem.” It added that the entire crew and the passengers were safely deboarded.
The aircraft had a capacity of 342 passengers, of which 303 were economy class seats. The airline stated that the passengers were also provided with full refunds on cancellations and free rescheduling. Air India stated that eight of the 12 toilets had “become unserviceable” almost an hour and forty-five minutes into the flight due to flushed polythene bags, rags, and clothes.
At that point, the plane was flying over the Atlantic with possible European cities to turn to mark along the way. Because of curfews on nighttime operations at most of the European airports, the decision was made to divert back to Chicago. The divert decision was all in the interests of passenger comfort and safety,” the airline announced in the release.
