{
  "id": 8432147,
  "title": "Airline behind world's longest route faces second in-flight medical emergency in two days",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/airline-behind-worlds-longest-route-faces-second-in-flight-medical",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-19T09:57:29.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "VnExpress International",
    "slug": "vnexpress-international",
    "url": "https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/traffic/airline-behind-world-s-longest-route-faces-second-in-flight-medical-emergency-in-two-days-5122268.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Singapore Airlines operated the world's longest commercial flight, route SQ305, which spanned from London to Singapore and back. The Airbus A350-900, carrying 197 passengers and 16 crew members, departed from Heathrow Airport at 9:38 a.m. local time and arrived at Istanbul Airport at 5:07 p.m. The aircraft then turned back towards Istanbul after three and a half hours due to an in-flight medical emergency, as reported by Flightradar24. Passengers were provided with medical services upon landing and were subsequently transferred to a hospital for further treatment, the airline confirmed, without disclosing the nature of the emergency. Due to the crew exceeding their flight time limits, the return journey was rescheduled to leave Istanbul at 12:10 p.m. on Sept. 16 and arrived at Changi Airport at 3:33 a.m. on Sept. 17. The nonstop London-Singapore service typically lasts around 13 hours. Singapore Airlines offered hotel accommodations and alternative flights for the affected passengers and apologized for any inconvenience caused. The previous incident involving flight SQ24 from Singapore to New York occurred four hours into its journey on Sept. 14, when it turned back to Changi Airport. This route between Singapore and John F. Kennedy International Airport has been recognized as the world's longest commercial flight since November 2020. While some Reddit posts suggested the pilot had fallen ill, Singapore Airlines has not confirmed the identity of the individual requiring medical attention.",
  "summary": "A Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight from London was diverted to Istanbul on Sept. 15 after a passenger fell ill, a day after another of the carrier's jets turned back to Singapore over a medical emergency.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}