According to the Bounce 2023 report, Singapore Airlines ranks as the second largest international airline.
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Singapore Airlines The company changed its in-flight seat belt rules and diverted at least one route after a turbulence incident on Tuesday that killed one person and hospitalized dozens more.
The airline said in a statement to CNBC that it will no longer serve hot drinks and meals when the seat belt sign is illuminated as part of the airline’s new “more cautious” approach to turbulence.
“SIA will continue to review our processes as the safety of our passengers and crew is of paramount importance,” the statement read.
The airline added that crew will continue to secure loose items and equipment and advised passengers to return to their seats and wear seat belts.
On May 21, 2024, interior photos of Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 after the emergency landing at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, Thailand.
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On Tuesday, the London-Singapore Boeing 777-300ER flight SQ321, carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members, encountered severe turbulence over Myanmar, causing the passengers and crew to be thrown into the cabin and forced to make an emergency landing in Bangkok.
The daily route has since continued to operate, but flight data showed it had deviated from parts of Myanmar where turbulence was occurring.
According to FlightRadar 24, the airline’s two airlines Completed flights Since the incident, the plane has flown over southern Myanmar, over the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea.
The airline did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the changes.
In Tuesday’s incident, a 73-year-old British man died of a suspected heart attack. Bangkok’s Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital press officer said another 104 passengers were injured. Tell Associated Press.
As of Thursday, about 20 passengers with head and spinal injuries were still in intensive care, the hospital director told a news conference. according to to the Associated Press.
According to the UK Aviation Authority, turbulence-related incidents are the most common type of accident for commercial airlines. National Transportation Safety Board. This covers major U.S. airlines as well as freighters and regional airlines.
However, serious injuries from turbulence are rare 163 cases have been recorded According to the NTSB, 129 of them were crew members between 2009 and 2022.
The Aviation Safety Network has recorded seven accidents with Singapore Airlines, the last of which recorded fatalities on one of the airline’s flights. October 2000when the plane hit construction equipment at Taipei’s main airport, killing 83 people.
—CNBC’s Sophie Kiderlin contributed to this report.
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