American Airlines Flight Reportedly Delayed For Hours Over 'Urine Smell'

An American Airlines flight from Los Angeles International Airport to Washington Dulles International Airport on Sunday was delayed for more than four hours over an alleged urine smell in the plane’s cabin. The incident was live-tweeted from the account of Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank, who first drew attention to the event.

“Classic @AmericanAir — after 14 hr flight from Sydney w/3 exhausted kids, LAX-IAD flight delayed hours because...plane ‘smells like urine,’” Milbank tweeted Sunday. “And @AmericanAir won't rebook because our bags are on the plane — which is now in a hangar.”

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“Urine-free plane now promised after 2.5 hour delay,” he continued, adding that Sarah Lee pound cakes were offered to passengers “as consolation.” Milbank later wrote that the “urine delay” reached three hours, at which time he tweeted that the airline didn’t have a captain to fly the plane.

The incident reportedly went on for nearly two more hours before the flight’s boarding began.

“A peevish UrineAir update,” Milbank later wrote. “Four hours 53 mins after @AmericanAir 2645 delayed b/c plane ‘smells like urine,’ LAX-IAD flight starts to taxi.”

American Airlines confirmed the incident in a Monday statement to International Business Times, citing a “cleanliness issue” as the cause for delay.

“Flight 2645 from LAX to Dulles on July 9, was delayed due to a cabin cleanliness issue,” the airline told IBT without elaborating further on whether the incident was indeed urine-related. “We brought in a new aircraft and the flight departed approximately 4.5 hours late. We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience.”

Incidentally, another urine-related flight incident made headlines in May after a woman was allegedly forced to urinate in a cup by United Airlines employees. Nicole Harper, a mother of two children, told local CBS affiliate KCTV that she suffered from an overactive bladder and was prohibited from using the lavatory while the plane navigated turbulence.

Harper claimed that she communicated to flight attendants both her condition and the severity of her issue. Harper reportedly waited her turn for the lavatory and attempted to get up when a flight attendant “told me very rudely it was not allowed to get out of my seat.”

Read: Woman Forced To Pee In Cup During United Airlines Flight, Was Humiliated By Attendant

“Well, I'm going to need a cup then,” replied Harper, whose husband helped her fill two. She was told at the time of the incident that she would be reported and forced to speak with the pilot upon landing. The attendant also said that the seat would have to be cleaned by a biohazard team.

“Customer safety is always our first priority,” United Airlines told IBT in a statement at the time. “Initial reports from the Mesa Airlines flight attendants indicate that Ms. Harper attempted to visit the lavatory on descent and was instructed to remain seated with the seat belt fastened per FAA regulations. At no point during the flight did flight attendants suggest that Ms. Harper use cups instead of the lavatory. We have reached out to Ms. Harper to better understand what occurred and we continue to review what happened.”