An airplane toilet works differently than a standard home toilet. An airport employee with 40 years of experience told the BBC (he is a foreign agent in the Russian Federation) about what really happens when a tourist flushes the toilet of an aircraft.
Most people might think that planes store faeces in a special compartment until the aircraft has landed, and a minority that they are dropped from the air when the “sanitary zone” is passed. However, both options are incorrect. What actually happens is that the waste is sucked through a vacuum into a large storage tank on the aircraft and removed by a vacuum cleaner upon landing by the ground crew.
However, an airport worker said that “very rarely” feces can leak from aircraft mid-flight and gave the following example: “We had a problem with blue ice [frozen waste and disinfectant] on arrival, but that was because those toilets were leaking.” The problem of leaks may be low pressure.
Is it possible to suck a body part into a toilet while flying?
Some horror stories tell of people being sucked into the toilet while they are on the plane. Fortunately, this is not true – the vacuum on the aircraft toilet only works when the drain pipe is opened, and the toilets are designed in such a way that this does not happen.
Can I use the toilet before departure?< /p>
Although the same rules do not apply on an airplane as on a train, when it comes to using the toilet, the crew advise against using it before the plane has taken off. For example, flight attendant Caroline Mercedes told The Insider that the toilet slows down the boarding process: “It's not a good idea to get up to use the toilet as soon as you get on the plane or we take off. There is always a queue of people during boarding, which slows down the process.”
Another flight attendant noted that it is okay to use the toilet on boarding, but never do so during a safety briefing. “It's okay to go to the bathroom before takeoff. But when you see the flight attendants doing a safety demonstration, you must stay put and wait until the seat belt sign is turned off. When passengers get up during the briefing, we need to stop, wait and start from the beginning when everyone returns to their seats,” she concluded.
For those who care about a healthy lifestyle, we recommend reading: “ The doctor told me how to get rid of constipation with a simple object.”
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