Singapore Airlines Offers Compensation Following Turbulence Incident

Facts

• Singapore Airlines on Tuesday announced it's offering compensation to passengers who experienced severe turbulence on a May flight from London to Singapore that injured dozens of passengers and caused one fatality.¹
• The flight, carrying 211 passengers and 18 crew, hit sudden turbulence that flung people and objects around the cabin, resulting in spine, brain, bone, and organ injuries. A 73-year-old man reportedly died of a heart attack.²
• Singapore Airlines offered $10K to passengers who experienced minor injuries and an 'advance payment' of $25K to passengers with more severe injuries to 'address their immediate needs.'³
• Passengers will also receive a full refund for the cost of their ticket. Channel News Asia reported that as of last week, approximately 10 passengers remained hospitalized, and up to three had been flown to their homes in air ambulances.⁴
• After the plane descended 178 ft (54 meters) in 4.6 seconds, one passenger reported not seeing a single uninjured crew member. All passengers and crew that had not fastened their seat belts were launched into the aircraft's ceiling during the plunge.⁵
• Singapore Airlines announced it would enact a more stringent seat belt policy and would prohibit drink and meal service while the seat belt signs are turned on. The company continues to cooperate in the ongoing investigation by the Singapore Transport Safety Investigation Bureau.⁶

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²Associated Press, ³BBC News, ⁴CNN, ⁵FOX News and ⁶CNBC.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by Abc. The deadly turbulence incident on the Singapore Airlines flight is just a glimpse into the future of air travel. As the climate changes, turbulence is expected to become 2-3 times more likely in the Atlantic. Additionally, the number of planes in the skies will only grow making it a challenge to find a flight path without rough air. This will force aviation experts to focus on changes to the in-cabin experience for passengers to provide additional safety for unexpected events.
• Narrative B, as provided by South China Morning Post. Air travel can be unpredictable and in rare circumstances can result in injury or trauma to air travelers. Even so, Singapore Airlines, with great sincerity, has apologized for the incident that occurred in May and has gone above and beyond the industry standard for compensation. This is a company that is doing its due diligence to support customers affected by this serious incident.

Predictions