I recall being on a Cuban charter plane a few years back flying from Havana to Grand Cayman: as we came in to land in Cayman, 2 of the cabin crew still had the drinks trolley in the aisle and as we landed were each clutching onto the trolley with one hand and clinging to the overhead bins with the other. In addition, 2 passengers were otherwise engaged in one of the toilets during this period, presumably joining every club from mile high to ground level. They came out of the toilet on landing and returned to their seats for the taxi to the terminal.

Wassa matter? Youse never been on the New Yawk shuttle? Seen it happen all the time.... and still remember the days when they used the rear staircase on the 72' to get folks off, fast.

A friend of mine tells of being on a domestic flight in Asia where just before rotation the crew made 8 people from the front of the plane stand in the aisle near the rear during takeoff. He learned that was SOP when the weight and balance wasn't right. He also talks about the live chickens in cages that were brought as "carryon" by some of the pax.

Good lord! All the Nigerian jets taken?

i was thinking the same thing!

Some of you might be a bit more understanding of a "rush trip" to the lav if you suffered from a condition called overactive bladder.

I once flew with my mother (who suffers with this condition -- is even on medication for it) when we were delayed at the gate for over 30 minutes and then were in a long line-up for take-off. By the time we finally got in the air and leveled off, she almost didn't make it to the washroom. She was nearly in tears from the pain that she had to endure.

Not all situations are what they might appear so, next time you see someone rushing to the lav, please have a little compassion and think about what THAT person might be going through.

Cuban airline using old Soviet prop planes. Used to be one flying the route that appeared to be a cargo conversion: rear loading, very few windows in the cabin, step over the luggage to get to the toilet.

I sympathize with your mother's problem. That must be a very tough thing to have to endure. Maybe the FA could make an exception for a passenger with a similar problem during a particularly long delay.

The problem is when the plane is moving, and FAA regs. It's unlikely, but what if she fell and injured herself during a point when the aircraft was accelerating or braking. She could probably sue the airline for damages, even though she was wrong. Hopefully she would not be up during the actual take off and landing.

But, if you are 12th in line to take off and need to go in an emergency, I don't see why the FA couldn't make an exception. But, consider this as well---some pax might decide that if she can do it, so can I. And if the FAA ended up fining an FA and pilot for trying to be Good Samaritans, that just does not seem fair. So it is really a catch 22 situation.

I would advise someone in this situation (and I'm no doctor, so take it for what it is worth), to avoid liquids as much as possible before and during the flight, and to force yourself to go when possible (just before boarding, and in the air just before the seat belt sign comes on for the descent). I'd also say let the FA know about it.

The plane I mentioned was an EMB-120, and was not delayed at the gate, and boarding took all of 10 minutes. We did sit on the tarmac for 20 minutes due to noise abatements. Still, if someone had to go so badly that she couldn't wait 20 minutes, she should have gone again at the gate or considered driving to LAX from SNA instead of flying. And why didn't these two pax get up and go while we were waiting on the taxiway rather than leaping up during the takeoff roll?

The captain can be fined $10,000 by the FAA for having pax up and about. It's for their own safety, and on a plane the size of an EMB-120, it could be for the safety of everyone--the sudden shift of weight of several pax moving from the front to the back during takeoff could significantly impact the takeoff.

Without getting technical, overactive bladder is not quite that simple. You can go and have to go again 10 minutes later -- which is what happened to my mother. She did not drink any fluids and she went right before boarding.

It is a much more common condition than most people realize and all I was trying to say is that, sometimes, there are extenuating circumstances for people leaping up to use the lav. When one has to choose between regulations and having an accident right there in the seat, I would say a trip to the lav is the obvious choice and certainly the least embarrassing.

I did not explain that well. The fine would be for continuing to taxi with a passenger out of their seat. As soon as she got up the FA was on the phone to the flight deck. I asked "do we really have to stop for this idiot" as she had been driving me nuts since check-in in LAS. That is when the FA said they would be fined for not stopping, not for the passenger being out of their seat.

Please see the previous post -- certain bladder conditions are not as predictable as you seem to think. And, because of this, you feel people should drive to their destination and not be allowed to fly? Come ON!!

Obviously, some situations are not what they appear and I'm sure that anyone who is forced to use the lav at an inappropriate moment while flying is highly embarrassed. All I am trying to say is that, at times, maybe other pax need to be just a bit more understanding and dare I say, compassionate?

As people in the US can not take responsibility for their own lives, someone else has to be accountable.

ORD-MEX in MX -- a couple of years ago, we pushed back and started to taxi with people still putting their stuff in the overhead bins. PA announcement -- let's hurry up that we are close to taking off (spanish and english)

IST-JFK in TK -- We stopped in a taxiway on our way to the gate for a couple of minutes. People got up and started to get ready to leave the plane as we were slowly taxing to the gate. No PA announcements at all.

US carriers -- ask permission before standing up; don't stare; don't walk; don't talk; don't....

Cheers...,

J

Ain't this the sad truth.

Best thing to do is probably pull the purser or lead FA aside when boarding to advise of the situation if one thinks it may be a problem. It's just like someone who has a bad stomach bug and has to make rush trips to the lav.

At many airports its probably not an issue as taxi times are short and there are no lines for deparure. Its airports like ORD, ATL, & EWR that are congested. An aircraft could get in the departure queue and be #30 for departure. Once a pax gets up, the a/c cannot taxi and in some cases may have to lose its departure spot in line.

In other cases where there is flow control, you may be in the penalty box waiting release for EWR or ORD. Passenger gets up, aircraft cannot proceed. If the plane can't get airborne, it then loses its release and could sometimes have a lengthy wait for another release time, by then most connections have been missed upon arrival at the hub disrupting the schedule of most pax.

I'll say it's a catch-22.

If your bladder is so unpredicatable that you cannot hold it for 3 minutes (long enough to get off the ground, at least--remember, the pax I cited got up DURING THE TAKEOFF ROLL), then you need to be wearing Depends. @:-)

I have all the sympathy in the world for medical conditions, having cared for several people with complications from Altzheimer's, but you also learn to take preventative measures as necessary. Would I not carry an epi-pen if I was prone to anaphylaxis, for example? Of course not.

And, for the record, I didn't say they should not be allowed to fly, but that they might CHOOSE to drive if they are in such bad shape they can't wait until takeoff on such a short flight.

I'll reiterate as well that in the specific situation I described--two pax running to the lav during takeoff roll of an EMB-120--the sudden shift in weight could actually be dangerous to the entire plane.