Singapore Airlines will stop meal services when planes fly through turbulence after one person was killed and dozens injured on a flight from London this week.
The airline said it has taken a “more cautious approach to managing in-flight turbulence” after the Singapore-bound Boeing 777 plane suffered extreme turbulence over the Andaman Sea on Tuesday, throwing passengers and items around the cabin.
“In addition to the suspension of hot beverage service when the seat belt sign is on, food service will also be suspended,” the airline said in a statement.
“Crew members will also return to their seats and secure their seat belts when the seat belt sign comes on.”
The plane, carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members (including 47 UK passengers and four Irish nationals), made a steep descent of 6,000 feet in about three minutes, after which it diverted towards Thailand.
Geoff Kitchen, 73, from Thornbury, Gloucestershire, died after suffering a suspected heart attack on board the Singapore Airlines plane.
The airline said it has taken a “more cautious approach to managing in-flight turbulence” after the Singapore-bound Boeing 777 plane suffered extreme turbulence over the Andaman Sea on Tuesday.
The company said meal service has been suspended and crew members will also return to their seats and secure their seat belts when the seat belt sign comes on.
The plane, carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew members (including 47 UK passengers and four Irish nationals), made a steep descent of 6,000 feet in about three minutes, after which it diverted towards Thailand. In the photo: a stewardess with blood on her face.
Authorities said the turbulence was believed to have occurred while meals were being served and many people were not wearing seat belts.
Geoff Kitchen, 73, from Thornbury, Gloucestershire, died after suffering a suspected heart attack on board the plane.
Forty-six passengers and two crew members remain hospitalized.
A British woman was left paralyzed from the waist down, her husband revealed yesterday.
Dance teacher Kerry Jordan, originally from Appledore in Devon, suffered a “life-changing injury” after being catapulted into the overhead lockers after the Boeing 777 suffered extreme turbulence on her flight from London. She is recovering at Bangkok’s Samittivej Srinakarin Hospital, where she is expected to remain for several weeks after undergoing emergency surgery.
Passengers have described the “sheer terror” of the plane shaking, loose objects flying and injured people lying on the floor of the plane.
Singapore Airlines said other safety measures in place during adverse weather conditions include having crew members secure loose items in the cabin and galley to minimize turbulence-related injuries, advising passengers to return to their seats and fasten their seat belts, and monitor passengers who may need help. like those in the bathroom.
Dance teacher Kerry Jordan, originally from Appledore in Devon, suffered a “life-changing injury” after being catapulted into the overhead lockers after the Boeing 777 suffered extreme turbulence on her flight from London. She is pictured on the right with her husband Keith Davis.
Authorities said the turbulence was believed to have occurred while meals were being served and many people were not wearing seat belts. Pictured: Food scattered around the plane.
Forty-six passengers and two crew members remain hospitalized. Pictured: The interior of Singapore Airline flight SG321 after making an emergency landing at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport.
Thai rescuers rush seriously injured passengers out on stretchers
Thai emergency services lift man on stretcher over heads of injured passengers
Singapore Airlines said other safety measures in place during adverse weather conditions include having crew members secure loose items in the cabin and galley. In the photo: the destruction caused by turbulence.
Passengers of Singapore Airlines flight SQ321, which made an emergency landing in Bangkok, greet their families upon arrival at Singapore Changi Airport.
‘Pilots and cabin crew are aware of the dangers associated with turbulence. They are also trained to assist customers and ensure cabin safety throughout the flight,” the airline stated.
“SIA will continue to review our processes as the safety of our passengers and crew is of utmost importance.”
The Singapore Straits Times newspaper said public records showed authorities had investigated six other Singapore Airlines flights hit by turbulence in the past two decades, in which some passengers and crew members were injured.
Tuesday’s incident was the only one in which there was a death.
It is unclear what caused Tuesday’s severe turbulence.
It is believed to have been clear air turbulence, the most dangerous type that often occurs without visible warning in the sky.
Wind shear can occur in faint cirrus clouds or even in clear air near thunderstorms, as differences in temperature and pressure create powerful currents of fast-moving air.
Samitivej Srinakarin Hospital, where most of the 104 people injured in the incident were treated, has said that among the 48 people still being treated are those with spinal or spinal cord damage, skull or head injuries. brain and damage to bones or internal organs.
Twenty people remain in intensive care, but the hospital said none are in life-threatening conditions.
They include six Britons, six Malaysians, three Australians, two Singaporeans and one person from Hong Kong, New Zealand and the Philippines.
Singapore Airlines apologized for the incident.
Chief executive Goh Choon Phong has promised that the airline will cooperate fully with the investigation and has visited those in hospital to offer his support.