By Natalia Rueda 
Delta Airlines Flight was supposed to be a routine eight-hour journey from Atlanta, Georgia to Barcelona, Spain. Midway through their flight disaster struck when the pilot received a shocking announcement over the intercom less than two hours into the flight: a passenger had just had an “episode of diarrhea all over the plane.” After a two-hour delay at the airport, the Airbus A350 departed, only to turn around an hour into the flight.
The pilot of the plane declared the event a “biohazard”, requiring the plane to return to Atlanta and land, where it was then cleaned and disinfected for several hours. The plane restarted the trip at around 3 am, and arrived in Barcelona 8 hours later than scheduled. There were no incidents reported on the flight itself.
The company quickly released a statement apologizing for the inconvenience and assuring passengers that safety was the priority above all else; the aircraft was thoroughly cleaned and all taken appropriate precautions to ensure that passengers would arrive to their destination in a safe manner.
Although it was an unfortunate incident, Delta Airlines and its crew handled the crisis magnificently. The incident serves as a reminder to passengers to always be mindful of their health when traveling, to take all necessary health precautions before and during the flight to ensure not only their health, but that of the passengers around them and the smooth operation of the flight.