Passengers were forced to urinate in bottles aboard a packed flight after the toilets broke down as an elderly woman endured the "humiliation" of soiling herself mid-air.

Travellers were told to make do after all the aircraft's lavatories malfunctioned on the gruelling six-hour Virgin journey between Bali and Brisbane.

Cabin crew stuck notices on the WCs declaring them out of order following a massive blockage - after the Boeing 737 MAX 8's rear facilities had already been withdrawn from service.

It left those aboard with nowhere to go to relieve themselves - and bottles were reportedly handed out for passengers who couldn't wait.

There was fury that the flight wasn't postponed or scrapped due to insufficient engineering support on the ground, with two of the three cubicles unusable before the aircraft departed the runway, reports the Mirror.

One passenger slammed the airline and told The Australian about the mayhem on board.

They said: "One elderly woman was unable to hold on and suffered the humiliation of wetting herself in public. Midway through the flight, every toilet had failed. The cabin crew informed us we would need to relieve ourselves in bottles or 'on top of whatever was already in the toilet'."

Virgin Australia has issued an apology after a flight from Denpasar to Brisbane experienced issues with the lavatories. A spokesperson for the airline told news.com.au: "A Virgin Australia flight from Denpasar to Brisbane on Thursday evening experienced an issue during the flight which affected the serviceability of the lavatories. We sincerely apologise to our guests and thank our crew for managing a challenging situation on board."

The Australian Transport Workers Union (TWU) has since approached Virgin about the incident, describing it as a "distressing event, which constitutes a severe hazard both for crew and passengers".

Emily McMillan, TWU national assistant secretary, stated: "Across the board, aviation workers are dealing with increasing risks to their health and safety at work, with an industry-wide trend towards profits over performance. We need to see decisions made in the interest of public and workers, not just prioritise getting planes out to maximise profits at the expense of the community."

In a separate incident in April, passengers on a Virgin Atlantic flight were left stranded at a military airfield following an emergency landing due to a seriously ill woman. The passengers claimed they had been left in limbo with "no food" for 24 hours and "felt cut off from the world".

Vulnerable passengers including diabetic patients, babies and a pregnant woman were all left 'abandoned' at a military hub following the medical emergency 30,000ft above ground.

Virgin Atlantic Flight VS358 departed Heathrow at 11.40am on Wednesday and was forced to divert to Diyarbakir Airport, Turkey at approximately 4.30pm.

The flight had been scheduled to touch down in Mumbai, India at 1.40am on Thursday local time.

However, following the mid-air emergency, the Airbus A350 experienced a technical fault - and was unable to depart again for India after the female passenger had been removed from the aircraft having become seriously ill.

The remaining travellers were instructed to leave the plane but were refused access to retrieve carry-on luggage and personal items.

A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson told the Mirror: "We're sorry that Virgin Atlantic flight VS358 from London Heathrow to Mumbai on 2nd April was disrupted following an urgent medical diversion to Diyarbakır Airport in Turkey. Due to the nature of the landing, the aircraft required extensive technical inspection before the aircraft was cleared to operate.

"The safety and security of our customers and crew remains our highest priority, and we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused and prolonged delay. Our customers were provided with overnight hotel accommodation on Thursday evening ahead of their onward journey today.

"With all necessary technical approvals now secured, the plane departed Diyarbakır Airport at 13:00 local time on Friday 4th April, operating as flight VS1358. Customers are now en route to Mumbai, with an expected arrival at approximately 20:49 local time."