<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by howellajohnson:
Here's a question which I am going to apologize for in advance:
Have you had instances of where PAXs would not come out of the lavatory on board an aircraft in what appeared to be a reasonable time to do *ahem* almost anything, creating both unwarranted concern and inconvenience for other PAXs?
The reason I am raising this question is that a few weeks ago I was about 8 1/2 hours into the JFK NRT flight, just prior to crossing the International Date Line, and I noticed that a line of about 4 PAXs had formed outside one of the bathrooms.
Nothing unusual, but about 20 minutes later the same PAXs were still waiting. The other 3 PAXs gave up and went to, I presume, other facilities. I joined the now 1 person PAX line. Two minutes later still no indication of if or when the PAX inside would be coming out. The PAX in front me finally left in a huff. I knocked on the door. No answer. I then opened the door ever so slowly and carefully not knowing what to expect...empty!
As it turns out, the vacant door sign was malfunctioning and indicating that it was occupied when it was not.
Other than just plain common sense, what is a reasonably waiting time before a FA should be alerted? No one bothered after almost 30 minutes. Japanese politeness??? As it turns out for good reason 
!
Have you ever caught anyone smoking in the lavatory? How did you know? Did the smoke alarm go off? Can you open the door from the outside to the lavatory just in case the PAX refuses to come out? Are PAXs ever fined, arrested for lavatory misbehavior? </font>
Hello,
This is a very interesting question. The issue of when to check on the person in the bathroom is one of those items that can be a little tricky. When I first began flying international flights and noticed this problem on the morning European arrivals, I watched a very elegant lady waiting at the lavoratory on a MIA-LHR 767-200 B/C lav. She was waiting patiently for a while and then she was at her limit. She then knocked on the door and said "Excuse me, others are waiting!". I thought wow....even this picture of elegance that has been such a delight as a passenger gets annoyed when others are inconsiderate and she came off as a hero to the other passengers. I loved it!
When someone in is the lavoratory for an extended period of time and others are waiting, I am more than happy to check and see if anyone is in there for them AND sometimes, just like you said, there is not anyone in there and if there was they could be having a medical emergency in there so we have a valid reason to check.
In regards to smoking in the lav....yes we do check and have quite a nose for cigarette smoke and yes I have caught people smoking.....I have a story....Once we caught a Swiss lady smoking in the lavoratory on a 767-200 JFK-SFO. Since I was the Purser, another flight attendant asked me to speak with the lady and her husband. I approached the very polite couple and informed them of the rules regarding smoking on US flights. (at this time, there was still smoking allowed on many international airlines). I told them that this could result in arrest in the US. They apologized and that was it, I thought. After we landed at SFO and all of the other passengers had deplaned...I walked out of the galley to get my luggage together and THERE WAS THE SWISS COUPLE! I said, "may I help you with something". The wife held out her wrists and said, "I am ready to be arrested?" I felt so bad.....I said..."No,no,its alright, please enjoy your visit to the US"
Since then I have not caught anyone smoking in the lav. Yes, we can open the lav from the outside....Yes, Yes, Yes!
[This message has been edited by airlinebiznut (edited Feb 11, 2004).]