A packed American Airlines flight diverted to Rome due to a “medical emergency” onboard. As a result, over 270 passengers were stranded for more than a day. Multiple passengers, however, claim that the reason for diversion was because one flight attendant insisted upon it after a passenger had an accident in which his clothing was soiled. Was such a diversion really justified?
Report: American Airlines Flight Diverts To Rome After Man Soils Himself – Was It Necessary?
First reported by DansDeals, the incident took place on August 2, 2022 onboard AA145, a Boeing 777-200 traveling from Tel Aviv (TLV) to New York (JFK):
- 271 of 273 seats were occupied and 13 crewmembers were onboard
- Passengers noticed their destination had changed to Rome
- Initially, no announcement was made concerning the new destination or asking whether there were any doctors onboard
- 10 minutes before landing, the pilot made an announcement confirming the diversion and noting there was a medical emergency onboard
- No fire department or paramedics met the flight
- According to one alleged passenger, a man had soiled himself
- Rather than isolate the man, the choice was made to divert (one flight attendant insisted upon it, according to the same passenger)
- Flight attendants had been warned before departure that the man was ill, but decided he was fit to fly
- Upon landing in Rome, everyone deplaned
- The crew left immediately, leaving the passengers behind
- Airport staff noted that American Airlines agents were on their way
- After five hours of waiting, during which no food or water was provided, an American Airlines agent met the group
- During this time, the soiled (and potentially contagious) passenger was left with everyone else (again, according to one alleged passenger)
- Passengers were told they would not be rebooked on other flights and AA145 would continue to JFK the following morning
- Airlines agent noted that baggage would be unloaded and busses had been arranged to take the passengers to a hotel
- Several observant passengers asked about Kosher meals during the delay, but the American Airlines agent said she was unable to reach AA’s Kosher caterer in Rome
- As always, a local Chabad chapter came to the rescue and provided food for the stranded guests (AA did provide non-Kosher food)
- Passengers were transported to the Ergife Hotel, reaching it around 10:00am (after arriving in Rome just before 4:00am)
- There, passengers were told their rooms would not be ready until 2:00pm
- Many passengers just slept, but some did use the time to explore the city
- The flight was supposed to leave Rome the following morning at 7:30am
- The hotel told all passengers to assemble at 3:30am to take a bus back to the terminal
- However, when they reached the airport they found the airport deserted, with counters not staffed until 5:00am
- At 8:14am the flight took off for New York
- AA had managed to obtain some Kosher meals, but not enough for everyone
- The flight arrived at JFK at 11:11am, 42 hours after it had departed and 30 hours late
Diversions are rarely fun and this one seems particularly hard, considering the timing of it and the absolutely aggravating waiting time, first for an agent, then for a bus, then for a hotel room.
Let’s assume that the passenger accounts are correct and a man was sick and had some sort of discharge. Was diverting to Rome really the best option? My first thought was grab the man some pajamas and isolate him (since there were two open seats, he could have had his own row). This flight did not have a first class cabin so there were not actually AA pajamas onboard, but I’m sure if he did not have a change of clothes in his carry-on bag, another passenger would have given him something.
There’s some discussion whether the crew had a financial incentive to divert, since they would be paid for the extra time away. It’s not exactly professional that the crew quickly disappeared when the flight landed, leaving the passengers to fend for themselves for several hours. Then again, that’s not in their job description. One passenger claims to have overheard the flight attendants talk about what a horrible biohazard the situation was and that a FA insisted upon landing due to fear of contagion.
But if that was really the concern, why was there no ambulance or paramedic to meet the flight? Why did the sick man also spend the next five hours in close-quarters with the other passengers?
It’s not like the captain or one flight attendant made the decision to divert alone. American Airlines was also involved and a special doctor was likely consulted via telephone in the air. Thus, I don’t make a definitive judgement on the diversion. Perhaps the soiling contaminated a whole row of seats. We are working on incomplete information and American Airlines has not provided additional details, even on background.
CONCLUSION
The overnight timing of the diversion of AA145 to Rome made this a difficult timeline for the passengers. I think it is fair to discuss, generally at least, whether a man with severe diarrhea or vomit warrants a diversion that burdens 270 other passengers. But without details to the contrary, I am going to trust AA’s decision. It is a shame that passengers had to wait so many hours to get into their hotel room once the plane landed.
image: American Airlines
Good grief. What a story! They should have asked if anyone had any medicine to help his stomach and try to clean that hot mess up asap. I also wonder why people couldn’t have walked to the Hilton? The funny part to me is that the announcements in Hebrew had more info than in English. Ha, that happened to me on a tour on Capri and I was so irritated…I’m not that dumb.
So Dementia Joe Biden was onboard and wanted to reprise his performance at the Vatican?
Really? Is that REALLY necessary? What’s the point?
Person, woman, man, camera, TV.
Amirite?
C’mon man. It wasn’t me this time.
Haven’t they thrown you all in jail yet?
How could they? We are the majority.
You only can hope you don’t walk in this man’s shoes someday~
MPV/Covid/Pandemic … this might be overreacting but I can’t blame the FA for putting their foot down. Who knows when the next plague is gonna hit us.
I blame the captain however for listening and capitulating to this glorified waitress.
If ever your flight is in an emergency situation, it will be that ‘glorified waitress’ who could make the difference between life and death. They are very well versed in medical emergencies.
As you said it’s not exactly in their job description so is there any reason the crew would be expected to stay?
That being said, if someone “soiled” themselves it would. I imagine, smell pretty bad. That’s a long flight to have to have that around.
AA once stuck me next to a guy with pretty pungent BO. The flight was two hours but seemed a lot louder. They didn’t care. They’re American Airlines.
“Louder”?
Man, that BO must’ve been intense!
It was BBO, Beyond BO.
I’m sure the passenger or passengers who complained about the diversion were not sitting anywhere close to the passengers who soiled themself. We don’t know what condition the seat of the aircraft (was it soiled as well) after the individual soiled themself. Isolation from the smell may not have been possible even with two open seats. And let’s get serious here for a second, FCO is 8 hours away from JFK. Who in their right mind wants to suffer through smelling that mess for the next 8 hours? If what the passengers stated is correct a diversion in my opinion was the only option available, to the crew.
As far passenger complaints about the time it took to get to the hotel there is still a lot of things that we don’t know. Like how close was the aircraft to FCO when the decision was made to divert? After the decision was made to divert how long from that point was it until the aircraft on the ground (are we talking hours or 30-40 minutes)? American Airlines does not run a 24 hour operation from FCO so it is probably safe to assume their agents were at home sleeping when their cell phones started ringing to alert them of the diversion. Does American have agents on call in Rome or do they work specific hours? That is important because if they don’t have agents on call then the agent isn’t required to answer the phone off duty. I wonder how many people would pick up the phone at 4 am if they are not on call if it was work related phone call and how many of us would make them call 2, 3, or 4 time before we answer? We don’t know how far from FCO the agents live, then once they arrive at the airport they have to then have to find hotels (not easy during summertime in Rome) that have the rooms to accommodate all those passengers and then find buses? Are their any bus companies in Rome that have customer service agents working at 4:00 am or customer service center open 24 hours a day? Then the bus company has to call in their drivers.
They landed at 4 am and reached the hotel by 10 am, I think that is a job well done when thinking about all the moving pieces and all the people that were woken up by a phones calls telling them they had to come into work much earlier than they had planned.
All you say might be true, but yet somehow the pilots and crew were able to quickly get off the plane, depart the airport and find adequate lodging, probably sound asleep before the last paying passenger was able to deplane, the exact same passengers mind you that they are incessantly telling you they are here for your safety and well being. Furthermore if the medical emergency was indeed so dangerous to the crew then why were they so blind and uncaring to leave the passengers exposed to such a biohazard? Last but not least how was such an unhealthy individual even allowed on board at the point of departure, there’s just no more common sense left in the world. Smart people are being told to shut up so that stupid people aren’t offended.
Apparently, the passenger had a fever before leaving but he wanted to fly and FAs agreed that he was okay to fly. It’s interesting that the same FAs suddenly felt they could not continue in-flight with him…
I’m not certain that FAs have the authority to accept “medically compromised” passengers. There should be a clear policy from AA management, FAs would not have any input.
@Costco Let us talk about the crew and why they did what they did. We are talking about an international flight the crew ran out of time was were no longer legal to continue onward to JFK which brings me to crew rest. There are two things most US carriers have to comply with when it comes to crew rest first is 13 CFR part 121, then there is also the pilot contract which at the airline I work for goes much further than part 121. This is important because crew rest does not start when the aircraft lands, it doesn’t start when the crew deplanes, it doesn’t start when board the bus, crew rest as defined at the airline I work for starts when the crew is in their hotel rooms. Keeping the crew at the airport only adds more hours to the delay. Could the crew have stayed at the airport until the last passenger left yes but would the flight have taken off the following day at 8:14 am the following day no because they would not have been legal to fly. As far as crew accommodation at the airline I work for there is a dedicated crew hotel desk at WHQ and the only job that department is responsible for is to make sure pilots and flight attendants have hotels. No one at the airport handles crew accommodations I’m assuming it is the same for American Airlines. Hotel accommodations for passengers at every airline is always handled at the local airport. Work rules and rest rules for flight attendants are not nearly as strict as they are for pilots but I’m fairly sure the FA’s at AA have an iron clad contract that covers flight attendant rest periods.
As far as leaving passengers exposed to a biohazard FCO is a huge airport, these passengers had to clear customs, immigration, claim their bags, make their way to the American Airlines customer service counter. If passengers were still exposed as you claim it isn’t American’s fault because they had plenty of space to get away from what you claim was a biohazard. However there is no reason for the crew to stick around because all that does is delay the continuation of the flight and it isn’t like flight attendants or pilots have access to any computer system within passenger section of the terminal so they can’t book hotels, meal vouchers, or do much of anything. So it is far more important on an international flight to get the crew into crew rest at their hotel which will reduce the total amount of hours the flight is delayed.
I’ve been in the airline industry for almost 30 years now, if this diversion had happened during AA’s normal operating hours I would agree it shouldn’t take that long to get passengers hotels. But the fact this happened at 4 am and knowing all the moving pieces that it takes I don’t think the criticism is fair and criticizing the crew for leaving it just shows people don’t truly understand the rules regarding crew rest.
Not a bad place to divert and spend a day.
What kind of idiot pilot diverts because a man shit himself? AA should fire that pilot.
AA pilots seem to be a collection of boneheads. Probably from the us military. Much like the police people who join the us military are either morons or sociopaths.
It’s a full 8+hours flight! Now, go sh*t yourself in a closet and sit there for 8 hours then come back and tell us it’s ok.
I don’t even know where to start. This is just wrong on so many levels. What an embarrassment to our society in America, which FA’s represent across the world, to subject a few hundred people to such a callous and cruel reaction to something that I am sure has occurred a million times on planes.
And for the Captain to just bow to an FA demanding they won’t continue? Take charge, be in command, put him/her in a jump seat and find solutions. It’s not that hard.
And to make it worse by the crew just abandoning the passengers at the terminal with no assistance, including the man? An indication of just how poorly trained and uncaring they are. Just wow. It may not be your job, but empathy means going above and beyond. Which should have started on the plane, but at least could have happened on the ground.
First responders my ass (no pun intended). Lazy, entitled, and without an ounce of understanding what it means to care for each other. The entire crew, including the Captain, especially the Captain, should be ashamed for such a disproportionate reaction.
This was a sh*tty situation for everyone. But once the FA decided to divert, did you expect the captain to poo-poo her idea? The crew could have been discharged from their doodies if they continued the flight. It was defacately the right decision to land in Rome.
Did you really say put them in a jump seat? That would land both the pilots and flight attendants in a world of trouble because passengers flying on any US carrier are not allowed in the jumpseast . The only people the FAA allows to occupy a jumpseat are crew members. I work for an airline (not American Airlines) and I’m not allowed to take any jumpseat as an airline employee. You must be a flight attendant or a pilot to take a jumpseat.
Even in a situation like this the FAA is clear and there is no wiggle room the only people allowed to occupy a jumpseat are crew members.
I said put the FA who was refusing to fly with him into a jump seat. But thanks for reminding me of the obvious lol.
There are different “levels” of soiling yourself. If the man had diarrhea, then it was just going to keep happening. And it could cause a more serious health emergency for him later through dehydration. Having him die while half-way over the Atlantic would have been a worse outcome.
If it was a one-time accident, then you are subjecting all of the other passengers in the area to the smell for hours. Ugh. There were simply not enough empty seats to isolate him.
Then there is the question of why was he soiling himself? Did he have contagious condition that put the other passengers at risk?
I find it funny that the crew instantly “vaporized” upon arrival to Rome.
It appears they were lacking that “warm fuzzy feeling” towards the PAX that airlines so luv to brag about…..
Sh*t happens! American Airlines, something special in the air.
I know you acknowledge all the assumptions in this piece, but it just seems strange to frame this around what some bystander passengers are guessing rather than giving the team of professionals involved (which as you note likely included a doctor!) the benefit of the doubt.
But more importantly: even if all these assumptions were true, I don’t want to be flying in a world where people are second guessing medical diversions.
I’m happy if a few overly-cautious diversions occur in order to make sure those borderline cases that are indeed much more serious are taken seriously.
I sided with AA here…
I bet you do. No ifs, ands, or butts.
No idea what happened here but FAs have too much authority despite not knowing much. So they are allowed to decide things that include security risks, biohazards and lesser items such as dress codes?
Like much of society today, it is another complete disaster.
And the end result is another long, often at least a full day delay at passenger’s expense and inconvenience. I hope someone at least investigates the crew and see if they had some incentive to get off the flight.
Can’t imagine anyone enjoys traveling these days with constant delays, high costs, low quality of service and too many people just being idiots.
Some problem was known in TLV. Pax shouldn’t have been boarded.
Listen up, folks. I’m an expert in this matter, and we need to know a little more about the incident to pass judgment. Was it just a couple Hershey squirts in the undies or was it a cat 5 blow-out?
Should the flight be diverted because someone crapped their pants? That Depends.
A dose of the squits can strike for all sorts of reasons…..anything from a dodgy kebab, over indulgence in the fun water, or similar, through to a serious and life threatening condition.
Perhaps the guy with the loose barking spider should not have been boarded.
Who knows what actually went on.
Any on board announcement would not have outlined precise details of the medical condition when the diversion was announced
Having shared a flight deck for 9 hours once with an SFO who had appalling BO, I can appreciate how unpleasant the stench from down below might have been, not to mention the possible health and infection potential.
The decision to divert would have resulted in tremendous cost to the airline and would not have been taken lightly…….and certainly not simply because a pax streaked their strides
Was this the flight from Raccoon City? I’ve seen this movie. They shouldn’t let anyone off the plane.
Jeez I would have been Vomiting
Thank God I’m almost at the end of my career and can put 4 decades and nearly 8 million BIS miles of traveling behind me. The idiots have taken over the airways.
i sent you this scoopa week ago
finally you wake up!!
What happens when flights have to divert overnight to a third country where not all passengers may have a visa or entry rights into that country?