Singapore Airlines’ A350 Flight To Nowhere

A Singapore Airlines Airbus A350-900 flew to nowhere after spending almost eight hours in the air, only to return to its departure point.

The aircraft, meant to operate a routine service between San Francisco International Airport (SFO) and Singapore Changi Airport (SIN), spent almost eight hours in the air before returning to San Francisco.

9V-SJC, an Airbus A350-900 operated by SQ31, saw the aircraft head back to the West Coast of the United States after a passenger injured himself after becoming unstable within the cabin.

The Singapore Airlines widebody resumed service that night; however, because of allocated crew blocks, authorities called in replacements for the journey, and they took the passenger who caused the return into custody.

Flight tracking data shows that 9V-SJC departed Singapore Changi at 1249; however, after about four hours in the air and over the Pacific Ocean, it turned back to the United States and arrived in San Francisco at 2032.

The Airbus A350-900 spent seven hours and 43 minutes airborne, making it an eight-hour flight to nowhere for the passengers and crew.

What happened on the Singapore Airlines A350?

Singapore Airlines confirmed in a statement following the return of the SQ31 service that a passenger had become disruptive inside the cabin and injured himself as a result on the flight.

After pilots assessed the situation, they described it as serious enough to warrant returning to San Francisco rather than continuing for many more hours to Singapore Changi.

An airline spokesperson said the aircraft returned to the United States almost eight hours after its first departure, and local authorities took the passenger involved in the incident into custody.

Unverified reports from passengers who have claimed to be onboard the A350 have said that a passenger went as far as reaching an emergency exit while kicking and screaming at seats onboard as well. These specifics haven’t been verified and are only reported accounts from passengers who claim they were onboard.

Given that the crew aboard the A350, despite going nowhere, had already operated for well over eight hours, not counting the airborne time, they were not fit to continue immediately on another journey back to Singapore Changi.

Instead, the carrier delayed the flight and saw departure at 2318 that same day, sourcing a replacement crew to ensure the aircraft could still return to the airline’s hub. Ultimately, the new flight on the same aircraft as SQ9031 departed just over three hours after the initial touchdown and almost 12 hours after the first attempted departure.