Alerts Sign-up
Passengers on a Virgin Australia flight from Bali to Brisbane were asked to relieve themselves in bottles after all of the aircraft’s lavatories became inoperative during the journey. The incident occurred on August 28, 2025, aboard a Boeing 737 MAX 8, according to reports by local Australian media.
The flight departed Denpasar International Airport with one rear toilet already out of service. Limited engineering support at the airport prevented repairs before departure, and the airline decided not to delay or cancel the flight. Midway through the five-hour trip, two additional lavatories failed, leaving passengers without any functioning toilets for approximately three hours.
A passenger told The Australian that “for the remaining three hours, the cabin crew informed us we would need to relieve ourselves in bottles or on top of whatever was already in the toilet.” Virgin Australia issued an apology following the incident: “A flight from Denpasar to Brisbane on Thursday evening experienced an issue during the flight, which affected the serviceability of the lavatories. We sincerely [apologize] to our guests and thank our crew for managing a challenging situation on board. We will be crediting guests for the Denpasar to Brisbane flight, and we are proactively reaching out to them to provide this update.”
