Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 plane makes emergency landing in Azerbaijan
A Singapore Airlines plane was forced to make an emergency landing in Azerbaijan due to loss of cabin pressure.
The Airbus A380 plane was flying from London to Singapore and had 467 passengers and 27 crew members on board.
Singapore Airlines said that oxygen masks were deployed and the aircraft landed “uneventfully” at the Baku airport.
It said that none of the passengers or crew was injured and that it was investigating what caused the problem.
Singapore Airlines said a replacement airplane to take the stranded passengers on to Singapore had now departed and was due to arrive in Baku on January 7.
It said it had also sent staff from both Istanbul and Moscow to provide assistance on the ground in Baku.
However, some customers writing on the airline’s Facebook page complained about the wait for a replacement plane.
In response to the complaints, Singapore Airlines issued a statement on Facebook apologizing: “We sincerely apologize to affected customers for the inconvenience caused by the diversion and the lengthy delay encountered at the airport in Baku.”
However, other people writing on Singapore Airline’s Facebook page praised its handling of the incident.
In response to passenger reports that the emergency landing was because of a faulty door, a Singapore Airlines spokesman said that “on the earlier flight into London there was a noise reported from one of the main deck doors”.
But he added that “the door was inspected by engineers on the ground in London with no findings, and the aircraft was cleared for continued operation”.
Airbus, which manufactures A380s, said in a statement that it was “following up on this issue and providing technical assistance to the airline”.
Singapore Airlines is one of the biggest operators of the A380 planes, with 19 jets in its fleet.