Singapore Airlines Operates 8-Hour Flight To Nowhere Due To Unruly Passenger

Well done, SQ! (Nice LH-SFO callback, Ben!)

Diverting to Cold Bay would not have been cool

Last year I was on a 16 hour Singapore airlines flight to nowhere, scheduled Singapore to SEA, turned around over Japan due to an engine issue. They determined that flying all the way back to Singapore was necessary, we arrived in the evening, they put us up at the airport crowne plaza and we all flew again the next morning. Apparently an immediate turnaround in Singapore wasn’t possible due to the need to arrive in Seattle when customs was open. I wasn’t thrilled to fly all the way back to Singapore but things were handled smoothly otherwise. Ended up being 31 hours of flight time.

Do you get credit for the extra miles flown?

Returning to SFO was the logical decision. I hope the disruptive passenger gets the shock treatment or prison sentence that they need.

I know some people are pure aholes. And they need to be punished to fullest extent of the law. But some people have genuine issues that happen. And in that case i hope they get the help they need to overcome their issues.

Well… passengers seating in business or first class really got their money’s worth.

This is what separates a good airline from a great airline: how they handle IROPS. As much as U.S. carriers get criticized for their product and service, this is something they do well especially United. I remember a flight from ATH back to the U.S. where one of the pilots got sick. They legally needed 3 pilots to fly back, so instead of canceling the flight, they flew to KEF where they could legally fly with 2 and then flew a fresh set of crew to KEF and made the swap there. Airline operations is fascinating and some airlines do it better than others!

I’m curious how catering works in this situation. Obviously one of the main meals would have been served, and after a delay like that they’d need to do another “first” service.

Since the catering vendor presumably only prepares x many meals per day and they’ve already catered the flight once, how do they produce and deal with suddenly needing another few hundred meals? Logistics like this are very interesting.

I think it was easier given it was a Star Alliance hub but I do agree that it was handled efficiently.

Nice job by SQ!!
Wonder what that disruptive individual's outcome was...

Amazing as to how the airline of a small country Singapore can be so efficient compared to the massive US airlines.

I’ve was on AKL-SIN and a mentally ill man was seated near us. He was actually yelling at the gate. I dont think he should have been allowed on myself. We had to divert to cairns which must have been hugely costly for SQ. I think that his wife who would have known he was not fit to fly should have stopped him flying. She was raving on as well that he had just lost his grandmother. Thats no excuse at all. The sq staff were amazing. It’s quite incredible to see that guy get taken off the plane by police. I hope he got charged for the costs incurred.

I was flying on that plane. FBI and medical staff came over to the plane and deported that unruly passenger first, once we arrived back at SFO. Then, 3 hours later, the flight departed with the replacement crew. Actually, the replacement crew was ready at the gate when we arrived back, but it still takes time to finish the process and get back to the plane. Airport staff was very helpful. They gave us a food voucher to eat at any airport hotel. On the replacement flight, food was served on a different schedule, as we departed 2nd time almost 12 hours later than the original time. Almost every passenger was rebooked in different flights for their next flight. But Singapore gave a really nice 5 star hotel room with food coupons if layover was more than X hours. Mine was a 10-hour layover in Singapore. Overall, I reached 22 hours late to my final destination but Singpaore Airlines handle it quite well. Kudos to them.