Plane Passenger Discovers Something Wrong With Luggage After Flight: ‘We Need to Be More Concerned’

A man has vented his frustration online after an elderly passenger accidentally urinated on his carry-on bag, which was under her seat.

The man and original poster (OP), user invisible_man_82, took to Reddit to recount the incident, which took place on a Delta flight from Detroit to Texas.

While he was boarding, the OP noticed that the “very elderly” woman sitting in front of him appeared “very confused”, and was asking the flight attendant (FA) “a lot of questions” before takeoff.

“I had my headphones in so I don’t know the nature of the questions and chalked it up to ‘She might not have flown in a long time’,” the OP wrote.

However, nearly two hours into the flight, the OP was hit by the strong smell of urine.

“She rings the call button and the FA helps her up to the bathroom,” the OP wrote. “It’s a late-night flight, and I know exactly what happened.

“She comes back, without a care in the world, and sits back down. It seemed more like she didn’t know really than didn’t care.”

The OP, however, was “panicked” because his carry-on bag was under her seat, but he tried not to cause a scene to embarrass the woman.

‘I really wish her family or friends intervened’

“When we do land and the cabin lights are on, she has completely peed herself,” he continued. “She was wearing grey sweat pants, so it was very apparent.

“I grab just the handle part of my backpack and go straight to the men’s room, get a paper towel and touch my bag. […]

“I understand things can happen, but my biggest issue was that she was traveling alone. She clearly was never in the right mental state to be doing this long of a flight by herself.

“I really wish her family or friends intervened before letting her board a plane.”

Redditors agreed with the OP that the situation was heartbreaking, with one user, who identified themselves as a flight attendant, saying they have “seen some truly heartbreaking things when seniors fly alone”.

“I’ve gone above and beyond what is required more than once because I just can’t stand to watch them confused, disoriented, crying and coming out of the D1 lav with their undies around their ankles,” they continued. “Super sad indeed.”

“My [mother-in-law] has very advanced dementia, and this sounds so much like her,” another added. “Very sad she was left to travel alone.”

‘We need to be more concerned’

In a message to Newsweek, the OP said he first grew concerned when he saw how disoriented the passenger seemed.

“We need to be more concerned with our senior family members and their capabilities and limitations,” he explained.

“I really feel the point from one FA [that there should be] an unaccompanied seniors program, just like the unaccompanied minors list… The flight attendants should be aware.

“Also, I wasn’t trying to be mean, I didn’t know where else to post it, just needed to get it off my chest.”

Travel Trouble

This is far from the first time an incident on a flight has attracted online attention.

While traveling with babies can be stressful for parents and fellow passengers, one mother captured a sweet moment between her husband, baby daughter and the other passengers, as the baby girl apologized “face-to-face” to her fellow travelers.

In related news, also covered by Newsweek, a woman sparked a debate online after revealing the annoying habit that’s become her “biggest pet peeve” when flying Economy.

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