The Great In-Flight Bathroom Debate

I’ve never had much of a problem finding a vacant toilet while in the air, and on the rare occasion when I did have to wait, it was never more than a minute or two. But one of our readers recently contacted us to raise a point of concern: Many passengers on long-haul flights use the restrooms for things like changing their clothes or putting on makeup, some of which can easily be done while seated or at the airport when they arrive. So what’s a passenger to do if he or she is unlucky enough to have a long wait for the restroom and a pressing need to go?

“The desperate queuing of the incontinent, or people with holiday ‘trots,’ becomes worse and more dramatic,” laments reader AJ, citing “those hours during turbulence when we are belted up and not permitted to go to the loos, so that when released from seatbelts we are desperate and queues form … especially just prior to landing.”

Why does it seem that there’s always a mad rush to the bathrooms just before a plane touches down? Sometimes it feels like passengers stay wedged in their seats the entire flight, bladders ready to explode, waiting for the captain to tell them the crew is preparing to secure the cabin for the plane’s return to Earth. Then they stampede to the facilities like they’re about to be sealed shut (probably because they are about to be sealed shut).

“Couldn’t airlines try to discourage use of toilets for the more frivolous purposes (or designate curtained small places for [them])?” AJ asks. “When impatient queues of people might form, stewardesses could pointedly announce to the passengers about availability of good changing [areas at the airport].”

Does AJ have a valid point? In your opinion, what constitutes a frivolous use of the washrooms? Do you have any onboard lavatory horror stories? Be sure to share in the comments below.

— written by Ashley Kosciolek