Seven Qantas passengers flying from London to Sydney have been injured today when the A380 superjet struck severe turbulence over the Indian Ocean.
Four of them, who received cuts and bruises, were taken to hospital in Singapore for treatment, while the other three were treated at the medical centre in Changi airport.
According to Qantas, the turbulence was the result of severe thunderstorms over the Indian Ocean, in Indian air space, three hours before the jet was due to land in Singapore for refueling.
A Qantas spokeswoman said the seatbelt sign went on immediately the aircraft hit the turbulence but some passengers were still standing or making their way back to their seats.
“Striking bad weather is not unusual,” Qantas spokeswoman said.
“The aircraft diverted around most of it but it was the initial part of the storm that had the impact.”
She described the injuries as minor cuts and bruises.
Engineers carried out a thorough inspection of the jet, named after Australian aviation pioneer Charles Kingsford Smith, and declared that no damage had been caused and it was fit to return to the skies.
Qantas jet was due to arrive in Sydney late on Sunday.
Qantas has received 12 of the 20 A380 “double decker” supersets it has ordered.
Just last week the airline reassured passengers there was no risk to safety after cracks were found on the wings of several A380 jets owned by a number of airlines around the world.
Qantas said that minuscule cracking had been found in the wing ribs on one of its A380s but no immediate action was required because it presented no risk to flight safety.
