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Delta flight turns around after passenger has severe case of diarrhea: β€˜This is a biohazard issue'

In a statement, Delta Airlines confirmed a "medical issue" forced the plane to return to Atlant to be cleaned.

Delta Air Lines Airbus A330 aircraft as seen during take off and flying phase on January 30, 2023.
Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images

A Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Barcelona was forced to turn around on Friday after a passenger had diarrhea.

According to FlightAware data, flight DL194 with 336 passengers on board departed Atlanta International Airport at 8:29 p.m. Friday for its eight-hour flight when it was forced to turn around over two hours after its departure.

"It's just a biohazard issue, we had a passenger who had diarrhea all the way through the airplane so they want us to come back to Atlanta," a Delta Air Lines pilot said to air traffic control in a recording from Liveatc.net posted on X.

"Both my wife and I were on the flight. It was a mess. The pilots made the right decision to turn around," a user said on X. "The ground crew did a great job, along the attendants and the pilots."

DL194 did not depart from Atlanta to Barcelona again in over five hours, landing in Barcelona on Saturday at 5.16 p.m. local time, flight data shows.

In a statement to NBC News, Delta Air Lines confirmed a "medical issue" forced the plane to return to Atlant to be cleaned.

β€œDelta flight 194 on Sept. 1 from Atlanta to Barcelona returned to Atlanta following an onboard medical issue,” the statement said.

"Our teams worked as quickly and safely as possible to thoroughly clean the airplane and get our customers to their final destination. We sincerely apologize to our customers for the delay and inconvenience to their travel plans."

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