Singapore Airlines (SIA) has changed its seat belt rules and altered at least one flight route after a bout of extreme turbulence killed one passenger and left dozens of others hospitalised.
A 73-year-old British man died of a suspected heart attack and dozens of passengers were injured on Tuesday when their flight from London to Singapore was buffeted by severe turbulence, forcing an emergency landing in Bangkok.
Following the incident, Singapore’s flag carrier has adopted “a more cautious approach to managing turbulence in-flight”, SIA told Al Jazeera in a statement on Friday.
Under the revised policy, meal service will no longer be provided when the seat belt sign is on, the airline said.
Cabin crew will also continue to secure all loose items and equipment during poor weather conditions and continue to advise passengers to return to their seats and secure their seat belts.
SIA has also avoided flying over the region of Myanmar where the turbulence occurred when travelling between London and Singapore, flying over the Bay of Bengal instead, according to route data on flight tracking site Flightradar24.
Forty-six passengers and two crew members, including citizens of the United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia and the Philippines, were being treated in hospital in Bangkok as of late Thursday.
