Virgin Atlantic have addressed passengers’ allegations that their luggage arrived covered in poo.
Luggage issues is arguably one of the most annoying things about travelling. Whether it’s your bags going missing or your suitcase arriving in a bad state, I think we can all agree that it’s not the best way to start a vacation.
This is something that Virgin Atlantic passengers who travelled to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport experienced on July 14.
While their luggage arrived, when some items were put onto the carousel, passengers noticed a strange smell. Then, as the bags came into view, people saw that some of them were splattered with an unsightly brown substance.
With the smell and color of the substance on the bags in mind, travellers were quick to presume that their luggage had been covered with poo.
In a now-deleted TikTok, one aggrieved passenger alleged, per the Mail Online: “You arrive in New York on a Virgin Atlantic flight and they’ve emptied the plane toilet (poo and wee) on your suitcase.”
She continued: “I literally went into shock. I couldn’t believe my eyes and nose.”
Another angry Virgin Atlantic passenger took to Twitter to air their grievances.
Sharing photos of their bag, they penned: “@VirginAtlantic you are sh*t! literally! How are all these bags covered in human sh*t! Floor staff saying they can’t provide wipes, new bags or hand sanitizer and that we have to ‘write an email to customer team’. All my clothes destroyed as I have a fabric bag.”
@VirginAtlantic you are shit! literally! How are all these bags covered in human shit! Floor staff saying they can’t provide wipes, new bags or hand sanitizer and that we have to “write an email to customer team”. All my clothes destroyed as I have a fabric bag :L #jfkairport #NY pic.twitter.com/uvdvHIsenI
— views my own (@pip_tazobactam) July 14, 2025
Virgin Atlantic has since spoken out on the matter and clarified that the substance on the bag wasn’t actually feces. Instead, it was allegedly grease from a broken pipe in the terminal.
“We’re aware of a New York JFK system failure that affected the baggage of a small number of arriving customers on July 14,” a spokesperson told Mail Online.
“We’re working closely with the team at JFK and local authorities to ensure the issue is resolved. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused to affected customers.”
The unfortunate ordeal comes after scientists recently warned that your suitcase can be 40 times dirtier than a toilet seat.
For research purposes, a team from InsureandGo took swabs from the wheels and the base of soft-shell and hard-shell models at a London airport rail hub.
The study found that on average, the wheels of a suitcase carried 400 bacterial colonies per three square centimeters; a far cry from the 10 bacterial colonies toilet seats have.
Soft shell luggage is reportedly the worst for harboring bacteria because the fabric traps dirt and moisture.
