My In-Flight Diarrhea Was So Bad They Canceled The Entire Flight

What was supposed to be an ordinary flight quickly spiraled into chaos when one traveler’s severe stomach issues forced the airline to cancel the trip altogether. This unforgettable — and for her, deeply embarrassing — moment ended with hazmat crews boarding the plane to clean up the mess.

Meghan Reinertsen insists she isn’t some kind of villain. She says she’s just a regular frequent flyer who found herself in the middle of a nightmare when sudden, uncontrollable diarrhea struck during her United Airlines flight. The incident became so bad that the crew ended up halting takeoff and calling in hazmat cleaners to deal with the mess left behind.

“I single-handedly got a flight out of Indianapolis cancelled.” an apologetic Reinertsen told her audience of more than 20 million TikTok viewers. “If that flight cancellation changed the trajectory of your life in a really negative way, I’m so sorry.”

Meghan Reinertsen claims to have caused a major airline to cancel a flight after she experienced unmanageable diarrhea. Meghan Reinertsen / TikTok

“But it wasn’t without pain and suffering.”

Reinertsen, who works as a nanny and is also an aspiring actress, explained that she had been traveling back to the US from Portugal for a film premiere when she felt what she described as “a disturbance deep, deep” brewing in her stomach.

“Something is brewing.” she recalled thinking, followed by “Something is happening that I am not prepared to deal with.”

That gut feeling turned out to be food poisoning.

She suspects she picked up the nasty bug after eating an undercooked hamburger the night before she boarded the plane. What seemed like a simple meal quickly became the source of a very long and miserable journey home.

Food-related illness can cause sudden diarrhea and vomiting, according to the Cleveland Clinic. jajam_e – stock.adobe.com

While food poisoning is rarely deadly, the Cleveland Clinic warns that its symptoms — which often include intense vomiting and diarrhea — can make you feel like you’re on death’s doorstep.

In fact, she’s not the only one who’s experienced an airborne gastrointestinal nightmare. One Etihad Airways passenger had to be taken off the plane in a wheelchair after eating a “smelly” in-flight meal, vomiting more than two dozen times during what they called a six-hour “flight from hell.”.

And in another case, a Delta Airlines flight from Detroit to Amsterdam had to make an unscheduled stop in New York after several passengers got sick from what was reported to be “spoiled” food served while flying at 30,000 feet.

@meghanreinertsen Part 1 of how I personally got a United flight cancelled #storytime #airplane #diarrhea @United Airlines ♬ original sound – Meghan Reinertsen

Fortunately for Reinertsen, her situation didn’t force an emergency landing mid-route. However, her urgent and ongoing bathroom visits meant other passengers were unable to use the lavatory for the rest of the flight.

“I’m full body sweating, I’m crying, my insides are cramping.” she said of those desperate moments, explaining that she was terrified she’d have an accident in her seat if she didn’t rush to the restroom — even though the seatbelt sign was still on.

“I couldn’t let that happen to me.” admitted the unfortunate traveler, before adding, “for the next 20 minutes, I have more diarrhea than any human should have in their life.”

While trapped in the tiny airplane bathroom, things only got worse. Along with the diarrhea, she started vomiting, which led her to call a flight attendant for help.

Reinertsen regaled over 20 million social media spectators with the sordid details of her plane pooping experience. Rafael Ben-Ari – stock.adobe.com

After the cabin crew handed her a bag to be sick in, Reinertsen stayed in the cramped lavatory for the remainder of the flight, alternating between bouts of vomiting and diarrhea.

She later learned from the attendant that the plane’s next scheduled trip had been canceled entirely.

When the flight was finally over, Reinertsen was escorted off the plane in a wheelchair. The aircraft was then taken out of service for a full deep clean, and she was left on her own to collect her luggage at baggage claim.

Unfortunately, her rough day didn’t end there. That night, she had yet another episode of diarrhea — this time in her hotel bed.

Reinertsen says a flight attendant informed her that the next flight the plane was supposed to take had been canceled due to her bathroom incident. luismolinero – stock.adobe.com

Still, she says that even soiling the hotel sheets didn’t compare to the shame of having an entire flight scrapped because of her illness.

“They canceled that flight because of me. The hazmat team had to come in and clean it, because they didn’t know if I’d brought a disease back from Portugal.” she groaned.

“I am a biohazard.” she joked about herself. “I am patient zero.”