A United Airlines flight from Washington DC to San Francisco was forced to make an unscheduled landing at Denver International Airport on Wednesday after a passenger became trapped in the lavatory.
The airline confirmed that the lavatory door became inoperative during the flight. The passenger, a woman, was freed after landing and was unhurt, a spokesperson said.
Video shared on Twitter by a fellow passenger showed a mechanic attempting to open the door. One man was heard saying, "We're just working on opening the door at the moment ma'am; we'll get you out soon, okay."
Passenger Jennifer Gettman told KPIX-TV that the woman "seemed fine" when she emerged. "Everyone clapped, the woman came out, they all felt very bad for her," Ms Gettman said. Passengers reported she had been stuck for about an hour.
Flight 1554 was due to land in San Francisco at 20:38 local time but touched down in Denver at 19:21. It took off again for San Francisco about two hours later. United Airlines said it is reaching out to all customers on board and the customer in the lavatory to apologise.
