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Passenger Forced to Sit in Urine-Soaked Seat From LHR to Cape Town

Traveler Andrew Wilkinson says that he requested to move, but was left in discomfort for the duration of the 11-hour British Airways flight.

A passenger on an 11-hour British Airways (BA) flight from London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) has revealed that he was forced to sit in a urine-soaked seat for the duration of his journey to South Africa. Andrew Wilkinson, who was traveling from LHR to Cape Town on the 4th of August, related the details of the incident to the Daily Mirror.

“I got to my seat and saw that there was a wet patch. It was about the size of two decks of cards laid side by side. At first I thought it was water but the smell was so distinct it could only have been urine,” the 39-year-old IT consultant said.

“I told the stewardess and she smelt it and agreed it was wee [urine]. She said: ‘Sorry about that’. Then she went to the toilet and brought me seat wipes and told me to clean it up myself,” he added.

In light of his discomfort, Wilkinson said that he then requested to be moved to business class. The member of flight crew said that she would try to accommodate his request, but Wilkinson told the outlet that he remained in his wet seat for the rest of the journey.

“So I was left to sit in a urine-soaked seat for over 11 hours when I paid £1,242 ($1,601) for a return flight with BA. It was awful. By the end of the flight, I could feel it seeping into my jeans,” he said.

Wilkinson filed a complaint with the carrier over the incident, but was not happy with the compensation offered. “I was given 5,000 Avios points and I just do not think that is a good enough compensation for sitting in someone else’s wee for over 11 hours.”

Commenting on the situation, a spokesperson for the carrier was quoted as saying, “We were very concerned to hear about this and have been in touch with our customer to apologize and make amends. The cleanliness of our aircraft is of the utmost importance to us and our planes are cleaned thoroughly after every flight.”

[Photo: Shutterstock]

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9 Comments
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bkerea66 August 28, 2017

I recall a flight several years ago where we sat at the gate for over an hour while the airline tried to find a replacement seat for one that had been soaked with urine by a departing passenger. They obviously didn't communicate the cause for the delay!

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Ca77andra August 24, 2017

AwayIgo: would it really have killed them to put you in First for all the trouble you went through? For me that would have been stressful to have to deal with it. That should have been your reward for THEIR mistake. And so much simpler and less time consuming for them. Oh wait, I think I'm talking common sense...nevermind :o/

August 24, 2017

Who said flying isn't a pisser?!

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awayIgo August 24, 2017

I too wouldnhave and have, refused to sit. The question is, were their other seats available in economy. Flying business, before sitting down, I witnessed the flight attendant attempt to serve the passenger next to my seat red wine. She instead spilled a considerable amount on my seat. She wiped and told me I could sit on a blanket. THAT, was not happening! It was a 12 hour flight. I just kept repeating that I wasn't sitting there. I also wanted an aisle,since I get up frequently during the night flight. They got the purser and there was a whole whispered conversation, out of my hearing. Finally, they got a passenger list. They went to another aisle passenger, presumably someone with more status and upgraded her to First. I got a dry seat, in my payed for class and was happy.

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Ca77andra August 24, 2017

Clearly there's more to this story. I could not have even sat down in it. And certainly would not have tried to clean it up. And after 11 hours it was just beginning to soak into his jeans?