SIA relief flight with passengers and crew members of SQ321 arrives in Singapore
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Follow topic:
SINGAPORE – There were hugs and some tears as passengers who were on Flight SQ321 reunited with worried family members and loved ones at Changi Airport Terminal 2 early in the morning on May 22.
Airport staff and personnel wearing Singapore Airlines vests escorted the passengers out of the baggage collection area after their relief flight landed, before ushering them in an efficient and controlled manner to the arrival pick-up point, bus bay or T2 carpark.
Their uneventful departure from the airport was a stark contrast to the ordeal that the passengers had faced the day before, when SQ321 experienced sudden extreme turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin
The turbulence caused one death and injured dozens of passengers, and the pilot made an emergency landing at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
SIA said in a Facebook post on May 22 that 131 passengers and 12 crew members who were on board SQ321 arrived in Singapore via a relief flight at 5.05am. They were received by SIA chief executive Goh Choon Phong.
In a subsequent update, SIA said an additional five passengers will be returning to Singapore on May 22. Another 74 passengers and six crew members are still in Bangkok, SIA added. They include those receiving medical care – 20 are in intensive care – as well as their family members and loved ones who were on the flight. One crew member is scheduled to head home on May 23.
According to data from flight tracker FlightRadar24, the relief flight that brought the passengers from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Changi Airport – SQ9071 – left Bangkok at about 3.10am Singapore time.
The interior of Flight SQ321 after an emergency landing at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport on May 21.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Earlier on May 21, the same Airbus A350 had taken off from Singapore’s Changi Airport at about 9pm Singapore time. Flights between the two cities take about 2½ hours on average.
At about 1am, Changi Airport staff set up barricades at the T2 arrival hall to guide arriving passengers from the baggage collection area’s exit either to the private-hire car pick-up point or bus bay and carpark.
The barricades blocked off about half the hall’s area, with next of kin and those who knew the passengers allowed past the cordon, while the media and other members of the public were kept out.
Staff were also seen conducting dry runs of passenger dispersal.
Singapore Airlines said the aircraft was diverted to Bangkok and made an emergency landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport at 3.45pm
PHOTOS: REUTERS
After SQ9071 arrived, the first passenger was spotted leaving the arrival hall at about 5.15am.
As passengers entered the arrival hall from the baggage collection area, each individual or group was accompanied by an SIA staff member, while care officers from Changi Airport were also on the ground to help them and their family members.
Some passengers were ushered towards two buses that bore Terminal 4 shuttle bus livery, while others went to the pick-up point where a row of taxis was lined up. SIA escorts also accompanied passengers to their vehicles in the carpark.
There were hugs and some tears as they reunited with worried family members and loved ones.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
The first bus – which was not full – left at close to 5.30am, with subsequent buses coming and leaving as and when a handful of passengers and SIA escorts boarded. It is not known where the buses were headed to.
SIA said it had arranged transportation to take passengers to their homes or hotels in Singapore. For passengers with onward connections, the airline had rebooked alternative flights for them and arranged hotel accommodation or lounge access for them until their next flight.
In a video message posted on Facebook,
“Our priority is to render all possible assistance to our passengers and crew members,” Mr Goh said.
“Once again, our deepest apologies to everyone affected by this incident.”
Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat said on May 22 that officers from his ministry’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau arrived in Bangkok on the night of May 21.
“As this incident involves a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, the United States’ National Transportation Safety Board is sending an accredited representative and four technical advisers to support the investigation,” he wrote on Facebook.
As SQ321 passengers filtered into T2’s arrival hall from the baggage collection area, one hugged her loved one for at least two minutes upon seeing him.
Another passenger, who was asked by the media if she was injured as she walked to the pick-up point, replied: “No, we were very lucky.”
One man was spotted with a cut on his left elbow, while a woman was pushed out of the arrival hall in a wheelchair.
There was a man with a cut on his left elbow, while a woman was pushed out of the arrival hall in a wheelchair.
ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
A family member of a passenger, who declined to be named, said her 23-year-old son, who is studying in London, had taken SQ321 back alone.
She first heard from her son, who she said suffered a minor cut, at about 4.20pm on May 21. She added that she was unable to reach SIA for more information, and had received updates only from her son.
Another passenger’s parents, Mr Chiew and his wife, were among those seen streaming into the arrival hall minutes before the relief flight landed at T2. They were waiting for their son, a 22-year-old full-time national serviceman returning from London with his girlfriend, who had just completed a student exchange programme.
Mr Chiew said his son had been communicating with him and his wife via text messages on WhatsApp ever since SQ321 arrived in Bangkok. His son said he was “thrown all over the place” during the turbulence, but was all right save for a few knocks.
The 57-year-old, who works in the logistics industry, said he had mixed feelings.
“We’re blessed that they are well, but until I look at him physically, I won’t know that for sure,” said, Mr Chiew, who declined to give his full name. “I told him to seek medical attention while in Bangkok, and perhaps get his head checked.”
Mr Chiew, his wife, his son, as well as the younger Mr Chiew’s girlfriend and her loved ones were later seen embracing one another in the arrival hall, before leaving together.
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on May 22 that he was relieved to hear that 143 passengers and crew aboard SQ321 have returned safely to Singapore.
“On behalf of the Government and people of Singapore, I thank the authorities in Thailand for their support in providing medical assistance and looking after the affected passengers and crew,” he wrote on Facebook.
“My deepest condolences once again to the family and loved ones of the deceased. I also hope and pray that those who are injured will recover and return home soon.”
Were you on SQ321? If you were a passenger on the flight, we are sorry for what you have been through and hope you are safe. If you are open to speaking to us, please get in touch via e-mail at stnewsdesk@sph.com.sg
Correction note: An earlier version of this story misspelled the name of Mr Chiew, a parent of an SQ321 passenger. We are sorry for the error.
