British Airways could be facing a compensation payout of up to £90,000 following a pungent smell that forced one of its flights to return to Heathrow Airport.

The BA flight to Dubai returned to London due to a foul odour emanating from an overflowing toilet, and three passengers have since filed claims for compensation due to the travel disruption.

They argue they are entitled to hundreds of pounds each after cabin crew were unable to fix the problem and the flight turned around near Brussels.

A British Airways captain told passengers the smell was from 'liquid faecal excrement' in a toilet

Passengers were initially told that they would board another flight in three hours, but it turned into a 15-hour delay.

Three passengers have contacted Claim4Flights.com to seek up to €600 each (£450) in compensation, the maximum allowed for a delay of more than four hours when travelling over 2,200 miles as stipulated by EU rules.

If all 200 passengers on board the flight were to claim, BA could be forced into paying out up to£90,000.

One claimant is Hertsmere councillor Abhishek Sachdev, who was travelling to Dubai with his pregnant wife and two-year-old daughter.

At the time he took to Twitter to explain how a 'smelly poo in the toilet' had forced the plane to turn back and land at Heathrow.

Tory councillor Abhishek Sachdev was travelling with his pregnant wife and their two-year-old daughter

Hertsmere councillor Abhishek Sachdev said passengers were told that crew could not fix the problem

Speaking to MailOnline Travel Mr Sachdev, a Tory councillor, said: 'We had booked a night flight to allow my two-and-and-half-year-old daughter to sleep.

'Initially we were told that the delay would be three hours until another flight. When we landed, the pilot said it would be a 15-hour delay, until 1pm the next day.

A smell emanating from the toilet on a BA flight forced the plane to turn back (file photo)

'This meant we lost a whole day of our holiday, and that we also had the stress of travelling on a daytime flight with our toddler daughter.'

Mr Sachdev decided to lodge a claim with Claim4Flights.com after being unimpressed with how BA officials dealt with the situation.

'At the baggage collection area, we were told by some BA staff to queue for information. After 15 minutes in that queue, we were then told there was no need to do so, and were given a leaflet,' he added.

'This leaflet simply said BA apologised for the technical fault, even though the pilot was clear that there was no technical fault.

'We then had to wait 25 minutes to get our accommodation and food voucher. About five or six staff were trying to print these for us but couldn't because of system problems they said.

'This was now midnight and we had pleaded with them to hurry up but it still took a long time to resolve. Then we got to the hotel, and had to wait another 25 minutes to check in.'

A British Airways spokesperson told MailOnline Travel at the time that they were 'sorry for the discomfort' of the passengers.

David Williams, director for Claim4Flights.com told MailOnline Travel: 'We are exploring the circumstances against the Regulation 261/2004 set by the European Parliament which dictates when passengers are entitled to claim compensation for delayed or cancelled flights.

'If the circumstances are such that the delay to the flight was within the control of British Airways then each passenger on the flight could be entitled up to €600 compensation, assuming there were 200 passengers on the flight then this could cost British Airways €120,000 in compensation.'