VA50: all toilets inoperable

[Melburnian1]

'The Australian' online has a lengthy report about how on Thursday 28 August 2025, VA50, the 1515 hours DPS-BNE airborne at 1606 hours had one of the three toilers inoperable.

Later, the other two also did not work, forcing passengers to use a sink, bottle or 'on top of' whatever was already in a toilet.

Apparently all passengers are being given unspecified compensation.

The B738 MAX VH-81K remains out of service after arriving BNE at 2330 hours, half an hour late on Thursday night.

One passenger is quoted saying it was unacceptable that the plane wasn't diverted given access to toilets is a matter of basic sanitation and hygiene.

VAi is blaming 'limited' engineering support' in DPS for that.

I was once on a SilkAir flight with either one or two of three toilets out of use. That was bad enough.

 

[AIRwin]

It's the newest aircraft in the fleet?

 

[Harrison_133]

It's the newest aircraft in the fleet?

Only entered service on Wednesday.

 

[VPS]

Very unpleasant

 

[anat0l]

Surely a minimum number of toilets operable is part of the MEL (or at least for a flight this length).

If all of them went inoperable, that probably should warrant a diversion unless the destination was incredibly close.

VAi blaming limited engineering support at DPS is probably not unreasonable, but going ahead with the flight is more questionable (unless the minimum was met with the number of operable toilets).

Can't imagine what that compensation could possibly be.

 

[dajop]

That's very shi##y for the passengers on board (sorry, someone had to make the remark).

 

[anat0l]

That's very shi##y for the passengers on board (sorry, someone had to make the remark).

Pray that no one got... well, like you said.... after all the toilets had gone out of commission.

 

[Melburnian1]

Especially difficult for the elderly and even worse for children.

Apparently urine escaped from at least one toilet, while one elderly lady wet herself.

The third toilet was said to have failed 'midway' through the flight. The flight path was close to Broome and then Alice Springs, so I'm unsure why the Captain couldn't have diverted to the latter. ASP might well not have had vacant rooms to accommodate c.170 passengers and crew, but at least the airport would have operable toilets.

To add insult to injury, the report claims the Captain (or FO) was first off the plane in Brisbane. No doubt in a hurry to get to a loo.

The whole sorry episode doesn't reflect well on VAi.

 

[SeaWolf]

There's some more details in an ABC article:

In a statement, Virgin said the flight took off with one rear toilet out of service but then the remaining two lavatories became unserviceable during the last one hour and 40 minutes of the flight.

"We will be crediting guests for the Denpasar to Brisbane flight and we are proactively reaching out to them to provide this update," the statement said.

'One elderly woman wet herself': Passengers 'distressed' after plane's toilets stop working

Virgin Australia has apologised after passengers on a flight from Bali to Brisbane overnight were left without any working toilets during what one described as "a filthy, humiliating nightmare".

www.abc.net.au

Passengers do seem to have various accounts of when the toilets became unusable.

 

[PERLHR]

You can always count on VA make a good news day (the market news) into a shi**y news day. Well done!

 

[PERLHR]

Can't imagine what that compensation could possibly be.

Whatever it be ..it will be cough!

 

[Cloud9]

Not sure Qatar will be very happy with this.

 

[Saab34]

If you are inbound over NT or QLD when these things happen there isn’t many places one can divert to.

 

[anat0l]

The flight path was close to Broome and then Alice Springs, so I'm unsure why the Captain couldn't have diverted to the latter. ASP might well not have had vacant rooms to accommodate c.170 passengers and crew, but at least the airport would have operable toilets.

ASP doesn't operate all hours (as far as I can tell, why would it) and has no customs facilities (mostly a guess, can't be far off). I don't trust the Australian government (via Border Force) to permit a plane load of passengers off the aircraft onto Australian territory without formal processing, not for a medical emergency let alone this situation (pressing, but admittedly less urgent).

If the path is as you suggest, perhaps the only options are PHE, DRW or PER, though if the call were made above ASP, arguably the call to continue to BNE is technically plausible.

 

[drron]

Not sure Qatar will be very happy with this.

Well I have just arrived in DOH from BKK. The toilet was one of the worst I have seen in the air. Not sure QR can claim the high ground.

 

[anat0l]

Well I have just arrived in DOH from BKK. The toilet was one of the worst I have seen in the air. Not sure QR can claim the high ground.

In Y or J?

How bad could it be? One might argue at least you had one to use

 

[PERLHR]

Well I have just arrived in DOH from BKK. The toilet was one of the worst I have seen in the air. Not sure QR can claim the high ground.

Surprises me for sure. Never seen a bad loo yet on 40 plus QR flights.

 

[drron]

I’m the one who has taken one for the team. Not the greatest of flights for several reasons. One that I thought would not be possible was that the lamb shank on QR was inferior the one on JQ.

 

[pauly7]

Just saw it on no news…. Multiple people apparently soiled themselves…

 

[pauly7]

The comments are the best part…. (Although I feel terribly sorry for the passengers stuck on that piece of junk!);

“When Virgin said they were a budget airline, nobody thought the toilets would be cut from the budget.”

“They should change the slogan to: ‘Virgin Australia — taking the piss, because you literally can’t.’”

“Virgin Australia: Wonderful. Unless you need to go.”