After reading the article and learning that people (passengers) were walking through it, I very quickly thought to myself “If you think for a moment you’re coming onto my plane with the smell of that stench, you have another thought coming. I don’t even want you walking down the jet bridge to get on my plane.” That smell lasts a long time.
I remember a lavatory on one of our flights that overflowed because a woman tried to flush a disposable diaper down the toilet. She must have used the toilet herself before putting in the diaper. We had feces on the floor and the stench was horrible. A passenger seated near the lavatory became physically ill and used the barf bag. Our flight attendants were very upset when they contacted me in the cockpit.
I was able to “mostly” calm them down and was able to get two of them to clean up the mess. We did have latex gloves for them to use, but even still, it was an act above their normal duty. I personally gave each of the two flight attendants a $100 out of my pocket after landing and I could get to an ATM. I was very thankful for their willingness to clean the mess, but the smell still lingered. After landing, the plane was removed from service until it could be cleaned and sanitized.
By the way, the plane was filled with about 240 souls onboard the B-767.
