Singapore Airlines has proposed compensation packages for passengers onboard flight SQ321, which faced extreme turbulence leading to a multitude of injuries and a single fatality last month, the company announced on Tuesday. The airline extended a financial offer of $10,000 (€9,288) towards passengers with minor injuries while a specialised compensation plan is to be formulate for those seriously injured. Providing context, the carrier explained, “Passengers medically evaluated as having sustained severe injuries, necessitating extensive medical treatment, and who require monetary help, are proposed a provisional payment of $25,000 to cater for their immediate needs.” This amount will subsequently be a component of the final settlement.
On the aforementioned flight from London to Singapore, extreme and sudden turbulence struck while the aircraft was over Myanmar, leading to a 73-year-old passenger’s suspected heart attack death and injuries to dozens more. The flight was rerouted and set down in Bangkok, Thailand. Among the passengers were four individuals of Irish nationality. A couple from Kilkenny recounted the horror of one of them penetrating “the casing above his head” during the turbulence. Eye-witness accounts described crew members and passengers not buckled in being thrown off the floor or from their seats, hitting the cabin roof and damaging it in several spots. A hospital in Bangkok, treating the injured passengers reported spinal cord, cranial and cerebral injuries.
By June 4th, nearly three weeks post the disruptive flight on May 20th, the airline reported 20 passengers were still under medical care in Bangkok. Requests for updated data were not promptly responded to. Singapore Airlines also revealed plans to reimburse airfares for all passengers on the turbulent flight, providing them with delay compensation in accordance with British or European Union regulations.
Singapore’s Transport Ministry’s initial report indicated swift changes in gravitational force and a 54m descent in altitude likely resulted in passengers and crew members being lifted off their seats. The report noted that the flight was likely crossing an area of “emerging convective activity” referring to a region experiencing severe weather conditions. The flight had a total of 211 passengers – many of whom were Australians, British, and Singaporeans – along with 18 crew members. This event has led to a fresh examination of seatbelt use routines as airlines often permit passengers to unfasten their seatbelts in normal cruising conditions, although it is recommended to stay buckled up.