Singapore, June 11 (Representative) Singapore Airlines has offered to pay compensation to those who were injured in May onboard a London-Singapore flight that encountered severe turbulence, media reports said Tuesday. In a Facebook post, the airline said it will pay $10,000 to those who sustained minor injuries. For passengers with more serious injuries, the airline is providing “an advance payment of $25,000 to address their immediate needs” and further discussions to meet “their specific circumstances”, a BBC report said. The company said it would offer a full fare refund to all passengers on the flight, including those who did not suffer any injuries. It said passengers will received delay compensation in accordance with European Union or United Kingdom regulations. The airline also offered $1,000 to all passengers to cover immediate expenses and it arranged for loved ones to fly to Bangkok to meet the fliers.
A 73-year-old British passenger died and dozens more were injured when flight SQ 321 encountered turbulence over Myanmar and was diverted to Thailand in May. The Singapore Airlines has not yet cleared on how many people would be entitled to the payments, the report said. More than a hundred people who had been on SQ 321 were treated in Bangkok hospital after the incident. Early investigations showed that the plane accelerated rapidly up and down, and dropped around 178ft (54m) over 4.6 seconds. Passengers described how crew and those not wearing seatbelts were sent flying and slammed into the cabin ceiling, the BBC said.The BBC report quoted hospital authorities in Bangkok where passengers were being treated as saying there there were spinal cord, head and muscle injuries. There were 211 passengers – including many Britons, Australians and Singaporeans – and 18 crew on board the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft at the time of the incident.