Passengers on trans-Atlantic flight endure sewage in aisles

HOUSTON — Passengers who endured a two-day trans-Atlantic odyssey with sewage overflowing from a jet's lavatories into the aisles are receiving an apology from Continental Airlines for the "poor conditions."

Flight 71, with 168 passengers on board, took off June 13 from Amsterdam bound for Newark, N.J., but was diverted to Shannon, Ireland, because of a problem with the lavatory.

The flight resumed the next day after repair work seemed to restore the lavatory system, a Continental spokesman said Thursday. But during the Shannon-Newark flight, "the problem developed again," spokesman Dave Messing said.

When the plane landed in Newark, he said, it was determined that the blockage was caused by someone flushing latex gloves down the toilet.

Signs warn against flushing foreign objects.

"Occasionally these instructions are overlooked," he said.

A passenger told Seattle's KING-TV that sewage flowed into the aisles, only one restroom was partially working and flight attendants served meals but told passengers not to eat much. He called it the worst flight of his life.

"I was forced to sit next to human excrement for seven hours. ... It's a nauseating smell," Collin Brock said.

Messing said Continental would compensate passengers with travel vouchers, but he declined to say how much they would be worth. A passenger said he was offered a $500 voucher.