New York-bound SIA flight turns back to S’pore shortly after take-off due to technical issue

SINGAPORE – A Singapore Airlines flight bound for New York on Aug 12 returned to Changi Airport shortly after take-off.

Flight SQ22, which was scheduled to depart at 11.35pm for New York (Newark) that day, returned because of a technical issue, said an SIA spokesperson in response to The Straits Times’ queries on Aug 14.

The spokesperson did not specify in its reply what the technical issue was.

The Airbus A350-900 ultra-long-range aircraft returned to Singapore at 3.06am on Aug 13, the spokesperson said.

SQ22, with a typical flight time of more than 18 hours and covers approximately 16,700km, is one of the longest direct commercial flights in the world.

“As the aircraft had to be towed to a remote parking bay for repairs, all 133 customers and 17 crew disembarked the aircraft and travelled to the airport terminal via buses to board the replacement aircraft,” said the spokesperson.

Passengers were provided with food vouchers as they waited for the replacement aircraft and crew, as the original flight crew would have exceeded their regulatory flight time limits, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson did not say what these flight time limits are.

The replacement aircraft departed Singapore at 5.41am on Aug 13, and touched down in New York (Newark) at 12.15pm local time that day, the spokesperson added.

Affected customers were provided with regular updates and necessary assistance, including rebooking them on alternative connecting flights, said the spokesperson.

A passenger on that flight, in a post on social media platform Reddit, said that SIA handled the situation “incredibly well”, although the person lamented not being told what the issue with the aircraft was.

“It would have been nice to get a little bit more detail on why we had to be towed and why people couldn’t get their bags,” said the Reddit user.

In its media reply, the airline apologised to customers for the inconvenience caused by the delay.

“The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority,” it added.

Daniel Lai is a journalist at the ST Now team, covering breaking news and international affairs.