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Imagine deplaning after a long flight and walking all the way to the baggage carousel, only to be traumatized by the state of your luggage. And not in a “a few wheels were broken” way, but in a “I may need to put myself through a sterilizing chamber” way. That’s what one Virgin Atlantic passenger felt like after finding her luggage—and everyone else’s—covered in what she says was human waste.
In a viral clip, Sosan (@sosafoods) shares how she landed in New York’s JFK airport after flying with Virgin Atlantic. Upon arriving at the baggage claim, however, Sosan was horrified at what she saw. Every one of the passengers’ bags was covered in what she says was feces from passengers who were aboard the flight.
‘I Smell A Lawsuit’
The text overlay on Sosan’s clip, which earned 2.4 million views as of Thursday, reads, “You arrive in New York on a Virgin Atlantic flight and they’ve emptied the plane toilet (poo & wee) on your suitcase.” Sosan punctuated her statement with a relatable barfing emoji.
Sosan films the baggage carousel as throngs of suitcases go around the conveyor belt. They indeed look like they’ve been splashed with filth, with every single piece of luggage sporting some sort of sewage. Though it is hard to confirm whether it was actual waste, Sosan assured her viewers in the comments section that the smell could not be attributed to mud.
“Does mud smell of [excrement]? It was the worst smell I have ever smelled in my life. I was gagging,” she replied to a skeptic.
Viewers Were Horrified–And Repulsed
Several of Sosan’s viewers begged her to sue Virgin, while many wondered how the bags were even allowed to go on the conveyor belt.
“Uhm is that not a major health hazard/violation?” a comment with over 83,000 likes read. Another echoed, “How is that not a bio hazard issue.”
This led Sosan to reply that Virgin “didn’t even make an announcement.”
“There were children with poo all over them,” she wrote.
She provided a bit more context about the incident in another comment. “…at first we didn’t know what it was!!! Some people didn’t even see the poo cos for some bags it was only on one side,” she wrote. “Once I found out I was warning people from touching the bags.”
In a follow-up TikTok, Sosan shared the same clip with a similar caption. One of the commenters, however, identified themselves as a passenger on that Virgin flight.
They claimed, “I only had hand luggage and I didn’t see anything but I can tell you walking through that terminal stunk of actual human poo. I wondered what happened and got out as soon as I could!”
After a commenter told her to sue based on a similar experience they had, Sosan asked for the lawyer’s details because she was so “traumatized.” However, she has not updated viewers about the incident as of Thursday.
Can She Really Sue Virgin Atlantic?
In short, yes. Sosan more than likely has grounds to sue based on negligence. When you hand over your luggage to an airline, they assume responsibility for your belongings. Even if it wasn’t human waste, if her belongings or any electronics or other items were damaged from the filth, Sosan can ask for compensation. She could also receive compensation for emotional distress or humiliation, which appears to be the case in her TikTok.
For many of these types of scenarios, though, the airline usually tries to settle the matter by offering money to the wronged passenger.
That doesn’t mean there haven’t been lawsuits, however. In January, a man sued Virgin Atlantic over missing luggage during his journey from London to Lagos. According to the Nation, a hearing will be held on Oct. 22 in the city of Lagos.
BroBible reached out to Sosan via TikTok direct message and to Virgin Atlantic via email.
Content shared from brobible.com.