American Airlines flight to Madrid diverted after bathroom overflows

The American Airlines flight to Madrid (not pictured) was diverted to JFK.

An American Airlines flight diverted to New York after crew members discovered problems with the bathrooms.

American Airlines flight 36 was en route from Dallas Fort Worth Airport to Madrid on Wednesday when the issue was discovered, according to the FAA. The aircraft landed at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York at about 10:30 p.m.

The FAA said the crew “reported an overflowing lavatory” and would now investigate the incident.

An American Airlines spokesperson told B-17: “On August 7, American Airlines flight 36 with service from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) to Madrid (MAD) diverted to New York (JFK) due to a maintenance issue.

The aircraft landed normally and passengers continued their journey on another plane on Thursday, the representative added. “We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans and apologize for the inconvenience.”

It’s understood that the issue involved the aircraft’s bathroom sinks and that passengers were given hotel accommodation in New York.

It’s not the first time this year that aircraft bathroom problems have caused disruptions. In March, a United Airlines flight from Germany to San Francisco was forced to turn around after one of its toilets reportedly malfunctioned and started leaking into the cabin.

In February, a KLM Boeing 787 Dreamliner heading to Los Angeles returned to Amsterdam after eight of the nine bathrooms stopped working.

Airlines including American are still recovering from the widespread disruption caused by the Crowdstrike IT outage late last month.