Emirates chief executive Timothy Clark said the recent turmoil at Singapore Airlines and the way it dealt with the aftermath provided a lesson for the entire industry.
Last month, a Singapore Airlines flight encountered severe turbulence on its way from London to Singapore, killing one person and injuring several others.
The flight was forced to land in Thailand, and a preliminary investigation showed the plane dropped 54 meters (178 feet) in less than five seconds.
“They were a little bit unlucky, but the way they handled the aftermath was a disaster for all of us in the industry,” Clark told CNBC’s Dan Murphy at the International Air Transport Association’s 80th annual general meeting in Dubai on Sunday. A lesson.
“No airline can do more than Singapore – one to solve the problem and two to deal with the consequences,” he said.
The investigation report stated that the pilot tried to control the aircraft to stabilize it under the situation of gravity fluctuations. The investigation report also pointed out that the seat belt fastening signal was turned on when the accident occurred.
On May 1, 2024, a Singapore Airlines Airbus A350-941 was preparing to take off on the runway of Barcelona El Prat Airport in Barcelona, Spain.
Noor Photos | Noor Photos | Getty Images
After the incident, Singapore Airlines revised its in-flight seat belt regulations and changed at least one route so that hot drinks and meals will no longer be served when the seat belt sign is illuminated.
Additionally, while daily routes from London to Singapore have since continued to operate, flight data display The airline has rerouted away from areas of Myanmar where turbulence has occurred. Singapore Airlines did not respond to CNBC’s request to confirm whether they had changed their routes.
Asked how Emirates was dealing with the turbulence issue, Clark said the industry as a whole was working on the issue and was determined to find a way to try and predict when clear-air turbulence might occur, which seems to happen “randomly” .
“We have an almost random increase in volatile activity and impact across our networks. So I don’t think we are alone,” he said.
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.
—CNBC’s Sophie Kiderlin and Karen Gilchrist contributed to this report.
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