A United Airlines pilot was forced to make an extraordinary decision to cancel a transatlantic flight from San Francisco to Paris after a passenger became inexplicably locked inside one of the aircraft's lavatories.
The incident, which occurred on Tuesday, saw emergency services and engineering crews scrambled to the gate at San Francisco International Airport in a frantic attempt to free the trapped individual.
Despite their best efforts, the technical fault with the bathroom door could not be resolved in a timely manner. Faced with a significant delay and potential safety implications for the long-haul journey to Charles de Gaulle Airport, the captain made the call to cancel the service entirely.
Passengers aboard United Flight UA990 were left stunned and frustrated as they were instructed to disembark the Boeing 777-200ER aircraft. The cancellation triggered a logistical nightmare for the airline, which was tasked with rebooking over 300 passengers onto alternative services.
An airline spokesperson confirmed the cancellation, stating: "We made the decision to cancel the flight so we could repair the lavatory door and avoid a longer delay on the runway. We never want to disrupt our customers' travel plans, and we're rebooking them on alternate flights and providing compensation for the inconvenience."
The event highlights the complex and unexpected operational challenges airlines can face, where a single malfunctioning component can ground a multi-million pound aircraft and disrupt the travel plans of hundreds.
