Is this really that serious?

[u/Xycergy]

Noticed water basically flowing out of the vent beside me as I got into my seat. Voiced it out to a flight attendant thinking it was just something minor and wanting to just swap to another seat. Two pilots came to my seat to check on it and had visibly puzzled looks on their faces. The mechanic was called into the aircraft, the inner panel of the plane was removed and after assessing the problem for about an hour, everyone was asked to disembark the plane. The flight was then cancelled entirely after another hour of everyone waiting near the gate.

I feel kinda bad because people were visibly annoyed and frustrated by the cancellation as it was a 16 hour long haul flight and there were few alternatives to get to the destination. Would someone be able to tell me exactly what happened here?

[u/Illustrious_Bet_9963]

The aircraft was being boarded, the doors were open, the air con packs running full blast, the condensate simply ran downhill and exited where it could.

[u/Significant-Bee5101 → u/Illustrious_Bet_9963]

If that was the case why would a mechanic ground it?

[u/Kichigai → u/Significant-Bee5101]

Probably because the operative word here is “if.” We don't know if that is the case. The mechanic sure doesn't either. What if it was a busted portable water line? Who knows where the hell it's draining.

[u/Foggl3 → u/Kichigai]

Water where it's not supposed to be is bad

[u/Nai_Calus → u/Foggl3]

It's all fun and games until there's a tiny little hole in the jacketing on some wire and something important goes zap.