Mid-Flight Crisis: Philippine Airlines Crew Forced To Handle Waste After Toilets Stop Working

Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, and WhatsApp for the latest stories and breaking news.

The crew of Philippine Airlines Flight PR113 faced an unusual emergency after all the onboard toilets stopped functioning

Multiple crew members reported that the flushing systems failed mid-flight on the Boeing 777-300ER, which was en route from Los Angeles to Manila's Ninoy Aquino International Airport on the 15-hour flight.

InsiderPH reported that the incident, which occurred last week, took place when the plane was about six hours from the closest landing point in Guam.

An emergency diversion was considered, but the captain ultimately decided to continue to Manila as scheduled.

To prevent overflow, crew members were told to manually remove waste from the toilets so passengers could continue using them

In an unlisted video filmed by crew and posted by InsiderPH, crew members can be seen scooping human waste from the toilet bowls and draining it into the adjacent sink.

There is reportedly no global airline protocol that supports this method, which conflicts with sanitation and occupational safety standards.

The cleaning process reportedly took place behind closed doors, leading to no formal passenger complaints.

With no diversions, PR113 landed safely at Manila, completing the 15-hour flight on schedule.

The crew reported the incident to Philippine Airlines' union, which has criticised the airline over operational and leadership failures

The union highlighted that profits and punctuality were prioritised over passenger and crew wellbeing, criticising the captain's decision along with supervisors at other levels of leadership.

The union also alleged that no further investigation was conducted, which they say increases the likelihood of a similar incident happening in the future.

While the flight concluded successfully, it remains unclear whether internal action or protocol changes will be implemented to protect crew members.