We all know what plane bathrooms are like. They’re small, they’re claustrophobic, they stink and they’re unhygienic. So just imagine you were locked inside one for the duration of your entire journey, like this poor guy was on board a SpiceJet flight from Mumbai to Bengaluru City in India this week.

The 37-year-old says he was unable to open the door due to a ‘malfunction in the lock’ and was stuck inside for the whole duration of the journey, which was an hour and 45 minutes.

The flight crew weren’t much help either, as the lock was so dodgy that they couldn’t open it from the outside. He wasn’t rescued until after the plane arrived at its destination in the early hours of Tuesday morning, but by that time he’d already endured an hour and 45 minutes of pure claustrophobic hell.

The man, who did not want to be named, told the Times of India: ‘I was traumatised, dazed and injured as I was thrown around inside the toilet as the plane landed. I managed to draw the attention of the crew who tried to open the door. It was getting scarier every minute.’

Before landing, airline staff passed a note under the door to him, reminding him not to panic (bit late for that): ‘Sir, we tried our best to open the door, however we could not open. Do not panic, we are landing in few mins, so please close the commode lid and sit on it and secure yourself. As soon as the main door is open, engineer will come. Do not panic.’

Technicians finally arrived after the plane landed and managed to break him out, but the man’s week was already completely ruined. He said: ‘During landing, I was thrown around and suffered injuries. It took 20 minutes for someone to start breaking open the door.’

An unnamed official at Bengaluru airport confirmed: ‘The poor man flew from Mumbai to Bengaluru inside the toilet and, shockingly, landed trapped inside the tiny lavatory.’

SpiceJet said it has apologised to the passenger and that he will be issued a full refund.

A spokesman for the airline said: ‘On 16 January, a passenger unfortunately got stuck inside the lavatory for about an hour on a SpiceJet flight operating from Mumbai to Bengaluru, while the aircraft was airborne due to a malfunction in the door lock. Throughout the journey, our crew provided assistance and guidance to the passenger. Upon arrival, an engineer opened the lavatory door, and the passenger received immediate medical support.’

However, the man claims he received ‘no medical help’ after he was freed from the loo: ‘When I came out, I had bruises, and my vision was blurred for a while. I got a bottle of water and a barrage of apologies from SpiceJet.’

The worst part? He missed the delicious, wholesome food and drink service! If I were him I would have just booted the door down tbh. Just say you’re severely claustrophobic and the situation was triggering your symptoms.

Or maybe he could have said he was a ‘plus-sized passenger’ and got the royal treatment that way? Something to keep in mind for next time.