An Austrian Airlines plane had to return two hours into a flight from Vienna to New York – after five of eight toilets broke down.

Some 300 people were on board Monday’s Boeing 777 flight, which was to set to last eight hours.

The crew decided to turn around after finding the toilets could not be flushed properly due to a technical problem, a spokeswoman for the airline told AFP on Tuesday.

She said such a problem had not occurred Austrian Airlines flights before. The plane has already been fixed and is back in service, the spokeswoman added.

Affected passengers were rebooked on other flights.