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A few weeks ago, I wrote about Singapore Airlines flight SQ321 from London Heathrow Airport (LHR) to Singapore Changi Airport (SIN). It hit severe turbulence en route and was forced to divert to Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK). The turbulence was so intense that one passenger died (of a heart attack) and as many as 71 others were injured. Now, Singapore is looking to offer compensation to these passengers in the form of at least $10,000.
Singapore Airlines flight #SQ321, operating from London (Heathrow) to Singapore on 20 May 2024, encountered severe turbulence en-route. The aircraft diverted to Bangkok and landed at 1545hrs local time on 21 May 2024.
We can confirm that there are injuries and one fatality on…
— Singapore Airlines (@SingaporeAir) May 21, 2024
Turbulence can hit at any time and if you’re not buckled up then you’re putting yourself at an unnecessary risk. While not confirmed that the deceased or injured passengers were unbuckled, it’s a small thing that can be done for your safety. There were 211 passengers and 18 crew members on the Boeing 777-300ER. The first 11 hours of the flight seemed uneventful until tragedy struck.
Images have emerged from inside SQ321 after hitting severe turbulence while enroute to Singapore, killing one passenger. https://t.co/sPhFfVr1Tb pic.twitter.com/IngvtijtAD
— Breaking Aviation News & Videos (@aviationbrk) May 21, 2024
Yesterday, Singapore Airlines began contacting passengers about compensation. Here is the message they received:
For passengers who sustained minor injuries from the incident, we have offered US$10,000 in compensation.
For those who sustained more serious injuries from the incident, we have invited them to discuss a compensation offer to meet each of their specific circumstances when they feel well and ready to do so. Passengers medically assessed as having sustained serious injuries, requiring long-term medical care, and requesting financial assistance are offered an advance payment of US$25,000 to address their immediate needs. This will be part of the final compensation that these passengers will receive.
In addition to the above, SIA will provide a full refund of the air fare to all passengers travelling on SQ321 on 20 May 2024, including those who did not suffer any injuries. All passengers will also receive delay compensation in accordance with the relevant European Union or United Kingdom regulations.
We provided all passengers with S$1,000 each to meet their immediate expenses upon departure from Bangkok. SIA has also been covering the medical expenses of the injured passengers, and arranged for their family members and loved ones to fly up to Bangkok where requested.”
Singapore Airlines should be applauded for how it’s handling this situation. Lucky at One Mile at a Time points out that turbulence was clearly not the airline’s fault, but the Montreal Convention makes airlines liable for any injuries sustained while flying (unless the injuries were caused by passenger negligence). The Montreal Convention makes airlines liable for maximum compensation around $175,000 per person. $10,000 is a bargain compared to this maximum amount, but this is not to say that passengers won’t file lawsuits for more and that those with serious injuries won’t see larger payouts.
AT A GLANCE: Monetary compensation passengers who flew on SQ321 will receive from Singapore Airlines (SIA) https://t.co/g4wOfPyLry pic.twitter.com/yRwUFKKGEq
— CNA (@ChannelNewsAsia) June 11, 2024
The above tweet breaks out how passengers are expected to be compensated.
Anthony’s Take: It’s good to see Singapore being so proactive. In addition to these payments, the airline has changed its cabin service policies when the seatbelt sign is on (more here).
(Featured Image Credit: @aviationbrk via X.)
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Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
1 comment
I think that Singapore should offer passengers who were not injured a US$5,000 voucher to intercept possible lawsuits. The cost to Singapore would be pretty small and even removing half of the potential lawsuits would be helpful.