Passenger trapped in airplane toilet for 1 hour, Cathay Pacific only offers this after 3 months of negotiation!

Going on a plane turns into "using the toilet"—wouldn't that make you angry? Recently, a Hong Kong passenger flying to Singapore was locked in the airplane toilet for nearly an hour due to a faulty door lock. The distressed passenger demanded compensation from the airline. After three months of negotiation, Cathay Pacific only offered 50,000 frequent flyer miles—enough for roughly a business class ticket from Hong Kong to Singapore—but their rude attitude during the process led him to file a complaint with the media.

According to Hong Kong media reports, the passenger is a Hong Kong businessman who had flown with Cathay Pacific between Hong Kong and Singapore over a hundred times. But on September 29 last year, while returning to Hong Kong, he went to use the toilet and ended up locked inside for 50 minutes.

The passenger said that flight attendants tried every method to open the door, even using a metal tool to pry it, but all attempts failed. He was very worried, thinking he might be stuck in the toilet for the entire flight—what if there was turbulence?

After 50 minutes, the toilet door finally opened, but the passenger was left deeply shaken and decided to seek compensation from Cathay Pacific. However, he felt the airline did not take the seriousness of the incident seriously. On October 6, he requested an upgrade to a higher cabin class as compensation, but found the offer insincere. On October 26, Cathay Pacific again proposed two cabin upgrades, but he asked to speak with a senior staff member—only to be met with unanswered calls. On December 11, he went directly to Cathay Pacific City to find a senior executive, but was given a string of fake contact numbers.

Later, a lower-ranking Cathay Pacific staff member contacted him and offered 50,000 Marco Polo Club miles as compensation, equivalent to about HK$12,000 or the price of a business class ticket from Hong Kong to Singapore. But the staff member kept emphasizing that he had only been flying economy class, which made the passenger feel the staffer was implying he wasn’t important. He refused the compensation and complained to the media.

A Cathay Pacific spokesperson responded, confirming the incident did occur. However, the crew had immediately informed the captain and used onboard equipment to help the passenger exit, also calming his emotions. Cathay Pacific claimed they had apologized to the passenger again and promised to relay his feedback to the relevant departments and colleagues to improve service quality.