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Flyers Stuck on Singapore A380 for Nearly Eight Hours Over Technical Issue

Joe Cortez September 11, 2023

Singapore Airlines’ Airbus A380 is often admired for its luxury – but some flyers were stuck there for around eight hours with intermittent air conditioning due to an engineering issue.

With the incredible luxury of the Singapore Suites and refined spaces throughout the aircraft, the Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 is one of the most sought-after aircraft in the world. But what if you were stuck on the airframe on the ground for eight hours with air conditioning going on and off?

A group of flyers found themselves in just that situation. The Straits Times reports the airline grounded the flight at Shanghai Pudong International Airport (PVG) due to a technical issue.

Aircraft Had Electricity Cut Several Times as Engineers Diagnose Issues

The incident happened on Wednesday, September 6, 2023. Singapore Airlines Flight 833 was scheduled to take off from Shanghai to Singapore Changi International Airport (SIN) at 4:50 p.m. local time. However, prior to takeoff, the flight was delayed due to what is being called a “technical issue.”

Passengers were allowed to board the flight despite the issue, with the hopes that the aircraft would ultimately take off. During this time, a spokesperson for the airline told the newspaper: “For safety reasons, the ground power had to be disabled while the checks were going on.” As a result, the air conditioning within the aircraft was cut several times while travelers were aboard. Passengers said it became unbearably hot while in the aircraft.

The engine was turned off twice. Without air conditioning, everyone was so hot in there,” flyer Chee Yang told The Straits Times. “It was lucky no one fainted.”

During the nearly eight-hour delay, Singapore Airlines says the flyers were given food and drink before the flight was ultimately cancelled. After deboarding, everyone was given accommodation for the night before getting booked on other flights the next day.

After the incident was cleared, a spokesperson for the airline acknowledged that passengers should have been allowed to return to the airport. They claim their hope was to keep everyone on board to expedite takeoff if it was resolved.

“We recognize that the customers could have been allowed to leave the aircraft earlier,” the spokesperson told The Straits Times. “SIA apologizes to the affected customers for this and we will review our procedures to avoid a recurrence.”

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