What we will tell you might leave you shocked, uncomfortable, and angry. No, it’s not a crime story. However, it will show how human rights seem to be violated. According to media reports, passengers aboard a recent Virgin Australia flight from Bali to Brisbane were reportedly instructed to relieve themselves in bottles after all onboard toilets became inoperable during the journey.
Flight VA50 departed Denpasar International Airport on August 28 with only two functioning lavatories. Although one of the rear toilets was already out of service before takeoff, the flight continued as scheduled due to limited engineering support in Denpasar.
As reported by PEOPLE Magazine, the remaining lavatories also malfunctioned roughly six hours into the flight aboard a Boeing 737. To manage the crisis, Virgin Australia told the flyers that they would be issued credits and that staff would proactively reach out to those affected. As the reason for the malfunction remains unknown, passengers suffered during the flight.
Flyers described the journey as distressing and unacceptable. One unnamed traveller told The Australian that the situation escalated soon after departure when the second rear toilet became unusable. Since only one toilet was working, the rest of the people on board had to queue for up to 40 minutes to use the remaining lavatory at the front of the plane.
“Midway through the flight, every toilet failed. For the remaining 3hrs, the crew said we would need to relieve ourselves in bottles or on top of whatever was already in the toilet.
…a foul smell spread through the aircraft and urine began seeping onto the floor.” pic.twitter.com/1gM40mJ6dW
— taipan168 (@taipan168) August 29, 2025
“One elderly woman was unable to hold on and suffered the humiliation of wetting herself in public,” the passenger claimed. By the midpoint of the flight, all toilets had stopped working. Passengers were allegedly told to use bottles or attempt to go “on top of whatever was already in the toilet.
Flying the Friendly Skies!
We hope you enjoy your flight.
Passengers Told to Urinate ‘In Bottles’ After All Toilets Stop Working on Virgin Australia Flight: Reportshttps://t.co/RNDyggvDo6
— BirdieBittern (@BirdieBittern) August 29, 2025
People were tense, kids were bawling their eyes out, and elderly passengers were distressed, considering the hygiene conditions of that one functioning toilet. “This is not a minor inconvenience. It’s a serious failure in the basic duty of care. Sanitation is a fundamental human right,” the old flyer said. “Being trapped in a confined space surrounded by overflowing toilets and human waste poses a public health and safety risk; it’s disgraceful.”
Meanwhile, things became worse when the same passenger who was seated in the business class refused to urinate in a bottle, and then he was asked to do it in the sink. “This is a huge hygiene issue as people wash their hands in the sink,” he told PEOPLE in disgust.
Another passenger, Aaron, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that the toilets had overflowed with urine, faeces, and used toilet paper. “The stench spread through the aircraft, seeping onto the floor,” he said. Emily McMillan, National Assistant Secretary of the Transport Workers’ Union (TWU), called the incident a “severe hazard” to passengers and crew.
She noted that it’s unfair how aviation workers are often exposed to work in unsafe and unsanitized conditions and forced to handle passenger tantrums at no fault, as airlines prioritise profit over proper performance and passenger care. As the news surfaced on social media, one user on X wrote, “Time to learn how to pack parachutes.”
Time to learn how to pack parachutes.
— サーモン天身🆓🍉 (@salmontenmi) August 29, 2025
With increasing reports of racism, accidents, and now a horrific incident like this, which would make any normal person hesitant to fly again, will the aviation industry suffer? Time will reveal the truth.
