SIA flight en route from London to S’pore diverted to Turkey due to medical situation on board

SINGAPORE – A Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight from London to Singapore on Sept 15 was diverted to Istanbul due to a medical situation on board.

Flight SQ305 – which was scheduled to depart Heathrow Airport in the British capital at 9.25am local time for Singapore that day – landed at Istanbul Airport at 5.07pm local time the same day, said an SIA spokesperson in response to The Straits Times’ queries on Sept 17.

Upon landing, the passenger requiring medical assistance was met by medical services and taken to hospital immediately, said the spokesperson, without specifying the nature of the medical situation, citing confidentiality.

According to data from flight tracking site FlightAware, SQ305 was flying over north-eastern Turkey when it diverted to Istanbul, in the north-west of the country.

There were 197 passengers and 16 crew on board the Airbus A350-900, said the spokesperson.

As the flight crew would have exceeded their regulatory flight time limits, the flight was rescheduled to depart Istanbul for Singapore on Sept 16 at 12.10pm local time, said the spokesperson.

Necessary assistance was provided to the affected passengers, including arranging hotel accommodation and rebooking them on alternative flights, added the spokesperson.

Typically, the non-stop flight from London to Singapore takes about 13 hours, according to SIA’s website.

Flight SQ305 was renumbered to SQ9391 and took off from Istanbul at 12.10pm local time. It touched down in Changi Airport at 3.33am on Sept 17 local time, said the spokesperson.

The spokesperson apologised to its passengers for the inconvenience caused, adding that the safety of passengers and crew is always its top priority.

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