Passenger Complains They Were Forced To Use The Bathroom At The Back Of The Plane While The Pilot Talked To A Flight Attendant
Despite the passenger's frustration, there was a specific explanation for the flight attendant's and pilot's actions.
ESB Professional | Shutterstock A Southwest passenger expressed their frustrations with the crew members who were on board their recent flight to Los Angeles from Dallas after noticing the pilot and one of the flight attendants conversing near the cockpit.
According to the passenger, the pilot and flight attendant refused to allow an elderly woman to use the lavatory at the front of the plane, forcing her to walk to the one all the way to the back of the aircraft as they continued their conversation in front of the bathroom door.
An elderly passenger was allegedly not allowed to use the bathroom at the front of the plane since the pilot and flight attendant were talking in front of it.
A frustrated passenger shared the reported incident on their X (formerly known as Twitter) account. At some point during the three-and-a-half-hour flight, the passenger claimed that an elderly woman seated in the sixth row got up to use the lavatory.
She was allegedly sent to use the restroom in the back of the plane instead since the pilot and a flight attendant were having a conversation near the front lavatory.
The passenger recorded a snippet of the flight attendant and pilot laughing and happily chatting with one another.
The passenger was clearly not thrilled with their customer service.
“@SouthwestAir flight attendant sent [an] elderly woman in row 6 to the lavatory in the back so the pilot could continue to just yuck it up with her,” he wrote in his X post.
“No one in the lavatory. They talked for a good 10 minutes.”
The post caught the attention of the official Southwest Airlines X account, who promised they would address his concerns.
“Thanks for sending this our way. We're sorry for your disappointment with our crew onboard your flight today. We’re always working to improve, and we'll be sure to document your concerns,” they wrote.
Opinions were mixed on the behavior of the flight crew.
“They should both be fired immediately, I’ve seen the same thing, it’s almost as if this is their moment of Power,” one X user commented.
“Nothing wrong with them chatting, but not cool to block the bathroom for social time,” another wrote.
However, others noted that there were other things the pilot could have been doing that required him to block the restroom entrance.
“Maybe he needed to stretch his legs? Every time a man and a woman talk, doesn’t mean they’re flirting,” one user suggested.
“You do know pilots are stuck in that small cockpit for 99.9% of the flight they are allowed to stretch out for a minute or 10 if they want,” another pointed out.
While passengers are not forbidden from using the lavatory closest to the cockpit, it is a general rule of thumb that you should avoid using it unless absolutely necessary.
This is because pilots need easy and quick access to the restroom closest to the cockpit at any given moment, and it can be inconvenient for them if it is often occupied by passengers.
It is considered a courtesy to leave the restroom next to the cockpit reserved for the pilot so that they won’t be away from their duties for long.
Yaroslav Astakhov | Shutterstock
Sometimes, flight attendants may block off that particular restroom from passengers if the pilot is currently using it or needs the space to stretch for a few moments.
YourTango’s very own Micki Spollen, who is a flight attendant herself, can confirm this.
“For safety reasons (to protect the flight deck from intrusion while only one pilot is in there), the forward lavatory has to be blocked off when a pilot is using it,” she reports.
“Sometimes the pilots hang out up front to stretch their legs, especially on long flights because there is NO room in the cockpit to do so.”
Even though some of the things the flight crew members do while en route may not make sense to us passengers, there is always a reason behind them, and they almost always have to do with our overall safety.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.