Understandably the word “biohazard” strikes fear in the hearts of not only plane passengers but flight attendants too.
One such occurence caused United Airlines Flight 2477, flying from Houston to Boston, to make an emergency landing in Washington Dulles International Airport as it left crew members vomiting according to PEOPLE.
A United representative told PEOPLE a customer experienced a medical issue.
“The aircraft was deep cleaned and subsequently departed for Boston later that afternoon,” the airline told PEOPLE.
United added that no one among the 155 passengers and six crew members aboard the Boeing 737-800 needed medical assistance.
However, an audio clip of the pilot’s emergency call shared on social media revealed travellers were requesting masks.
“I talked to the crew and it sounds like it’s quite bad back there,” the pilot is heard saying in a recording shared on X.
“It’s still really bad. The crew is vomiting, and passengers all around are asking for masks. With this kind of being a biohazard, I think we need to get this plane on the ground ASAP.”
In September 2023, a Delta flight from Atlanta to Barcelona was diverted due to a passenger’s severe diarrhea and in a clip shared on social media, the pilot told dispatchers it was “a biohazard issue.”
One X user, who said their partner was on the Delta flight, said it “smelled horrible.”
Robin Mermelstein, a Miami-based flight attendant who’s worked for a major airline for 40 years, told PEOPLE she’s been on flights where passengers have vomited in their seats and staff use a biohazard fluid control powder called Red-Z to dissipate it.
Mermelstein added said she’s been on flights where people have had “very bad” accidents in the lavatory but in those cases she would just lock off the bathroom.
She said the scenario on the Delta flight was likely that the diarrhea, a trail of which could be seen on the floor of the cabin’s aisle in a video shared on social media, “was everywhere.”