New York-bound SIA flight turns back to S’pore shortly after take-off due to technical issue
The flight, which was scheduled to depart at 11.35pm on Aug 12, returned to Singapore at 3.06am on Aug 13.
On August 12, a Singapore Airlines flight bound for New York (Newark) returned to Singapore Changi Airport shortly after taking off due to a technical issue, according to an SIA spokesperson. The Airbus A350-900 ultra-long-range aircraft, Flight SQ22, was scheduled to depart at 11:35 PM for New York that day but returned to the airport at 3:06 AM on August 13. The spokesperson did not specify the nature of the technical issue.
The Airbus A350-900 is one of the longest direct commercial flights, covering approximately 16,700km with a typical flight time of over 18 hours. Upon returning, all 133 passengers and 17 crew members disembarked and were transported to the airport terminal via buses to board a replacement aircraft. Passengers were provided with food vouchers during this time, as the original flight crew would have exceeded their regulatory flight time limits.
The replacement aircraft departed Singapore at 5:41 AM on August 13 and landed in New York at 12:15 PM local time on the same day. Affected customers were regularly updated and assisted, including rebooking them on alternative connecting flights. A passenger on social media platform Reddit commended SIA's handling of the situation, despite lamenting not receiving more detailed information about the technical issue.
The airline apologized for the inconvenience caused by the delay, emphasizing the safety of customers and crew as their top priority.
Written by urgent.news from Straits Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
