Virgin plane forced to turn back because of 'unbearable' smell

A Virgin Australia flight bound for Sydney was forced to return to Los Angeles airport due to an "unbearable" smell.

The airline said the problem was caused by a leaking sink onboard the aircraft, but passengers said they saw "human waste" running down the aisle – a claim Virgin strongly denies.

Passengers seated near the toilets said they were given masks to wear for the remainder of the journey.

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"We could see [human waste] go through the aisles, like it was very obvious," one passenger said. "We were literally sitting in crap," she added, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Virgin said the plane turned back for the comfort of passengers onboard, so they did not "have to deal with that issue".

"In accordance with standard operating procedures, the captain made the decision to return to port as a precautionary measure after two of the sinks on board were leaking," the airline said in a statement.

"The onboard toilets operate on a completely separate drainage system," it told the Sydney Morning Herald. "As the issue was with the aircraft sink, and not the toilets, there was no incident of leaked human waste."

Virgin said the safety of the aircraft was never in question. "The aircraft has now been inspected by engineers and cleared to return to service," it said.

The airline has publicly apologised to the passengers onboard and compensated them with free accommodation, new flights and credit with the airline’s travel bank.