I think it just being "Kiasu" / extra safety precautions.
Imagine getting so unlucky and it happen at the same spot.
What will happen to SIA rep / stock if happen again?
Was just on SQ319 from LHR to SIN. The immediate next flight after SQ321 on the same route just with A380 instead of 777. Crew were extra careful. Whenever the seatbelt sign came on the pilot would explain what kind of turbulence they were expecting etc. First meal service was interrupted halfway in anticipation of light to medium turbulence which thankfully didn't materialise.
Second meal service was served unusually late, about 1.5 hours to landing. I guess they didn't want to take the chance serving meals over the Andaman sea
Overall quite uneventful (thankfully) but compared to my flight from SIN LHR I didn't really see people loitering around the toilets (on my previous flight many were there just to stretch)
As of today they changed the meal serving time from 2 hours prior to landing to 3 hours. 1.5 is way too late to finish 3 course meal.
The crew is also prohibited from performing any tasks while the seatbelt sign is on (temporary measures), which disrupts their usual procedures.
I believe that Singapore Airline (SQ) is doing the right things with all these newly implemented procedures. It is not just about the revenue - but for the safety, and the reputation risk of Singapore Airline (SQ). Although what happened, or took place recently is considered "an act of god" something that they cannot control - but within SQ, they will find a way to mitigate this risk.
I give it 1-2 months before they revert to the original protocol once everyone forget about it and moved on . Flying is no more dangerous today than a month ago.
The new changes are too disruptive to their workflow and passengers' sleep schedules, with food potentially being served an hour before landing or even 6 hours before landing. At that point, it’s no different from flying with a layover.
Thank you for your comments on the second portion. Unfortunately, I’ve not flown the route passing through the Irrawaddy Basin - so I cannot comment on the service schedule.
But thank for giving me some clue on the service schedule to Europe.
I had two friends on the same flight as you. It’s crazy how had they booked the earlier one, they could have been in that same incident. Now they’re really scared to fly again.
Yeah we had also almost booked the earlier flight as our initial thought was to come back earlier and rest and unpack on Vesak Day before going back to work...
Even if the route is over the sea, it is also turbulent. This area over Bay of Bengal is always bad. Used to fly this route regularly and it was already bad then. It is worse now with climate change.
Even BOM - SIN SQ 423 goes over the Bay of Bengal & pilots on this route usually warn you about “slightly bumpy at the Bay of Bengal.. but otherwise fair”
I felt like it was common knowledge that the Bay of Bengal is kinda always usually turbulent except when I recently flew in February I didn’t feel a thing.
Can any aviation expert explain why airlines don't want to fly over the thailand-myanmar land area instead of the Bay of Bengal which is notorious for CAT? Why??
FR24 reports that the episode occurred around 7:49 AM UTC, which places the flight squarely over land, above Payagyi
Flight playback: [https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/sq321#354eb60f](https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/sq321#354eb60f)
Not that it really matters since it's a tiny strip and air disturbances from storms can extend several miles in every direction, but since it's a point of contention here for some reason...
I was flying from Zurich yesterday, right around the same time as the SQ flight.
Our path was similar to what this flight is taking today. There was some turbulence, but not bad.
LX176
Feel very lucky.
even after the plane has touch down, many times Ive heard people unbuckle once landing gear impact on the ground.... the plane is still moving at a fast speed.
These ppl only kiasu want get off early
But even after wheels touch runway it still isnt considered safe yet. Lots of stuff that can go horribly wrong. e.g.
Aborted landing gone wrong (Emirates 571, TAP 754 near miss), Runway overrun (Lionair 904, Garuda 200), Runway incursion (USair 1493 and Skywest 5569, JAL 516 and JA722A, tons of near misses in US recently with an upwards trend) all are examples of stuff that can go wrong
Even during taxi, i wouldnt get up. Planes normally taxi at about 20-30 knots. Thats 40-55kmh
You driving car on road also dont stand up, but when in a plane at the same speed suddenly want to stand up. Make it make sense
>standing on public buses or MRT
When things go wrong, they still go wrong just as bad on both
Like the recent case where a bus crashed into a barrier at Changi airport [and 21 people had to be brought to the hospital because of it](https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/bus-accident-changi-airport-t3-road-blocker-service-858-hospital-injured-4354481)
And if the choice is between standing or sitting down with a seatbelt, pretty sure the seatbelts gonna be the safer option
MRT though at least has safety systems to prevent a crash. The most that would happen is probably just an emergency brake rather than full on crash.
Force of impact is also a lot larger in a aircraft accident since the plane has a lot more inertia due to its much larger mass
Yea, those ones are pretty dumb
A lot of shit can go wrong from gear touching ground to the gate
Aborted landing gone wrong (Emirates 571, TAP 754 near miss), Runway overrun (Lionair 904, Garuda 200), Runway incursion (USair 1493 and Skywest 5569, JAL 516 and JA722A, tons of near misses in US recently with an upwards trend) all are examples of stuff that can go wrong
these people never learn do they
> Ive heard people unbuckle once landing gear impact on the ground
In the air law / flight regulations of many jurisdictions it is a **requirement** that pax have seatbelts fastened during taxi
And where it's not required it would also be part of the airlines SOP requirements in the flight manual...
Same goes for walking, you can do all the checks before taking a step then someone comes along and stab you in the neck. Are you gonna stop walking then?
It's always this spot. I live in Frankfurt and frequently travel back to Sg via Duabi, and everytime our Dubai - Singapore flight passes this patch over the sea, it's 30 mins of nonstop severe turbulence, even on the A380 Superjumbo.
What's worse is that Emirates schedules their 'breakfast' service right around this time, so it's always a struggle to prevent your coffee from spilling everytime we fly over this area
> always a struggle to prevent your coffee from spilling
I used to often commute back to SG too
My solution is non-slip mats. I get them from dollar stores and they go into my passport pouch. Small and rubberized, they keep my tray on the foldout table so I can eat with one hand without fear of spillage. I take my hot beverages in a thermos bottle so I can enjoy it over a longer duration.
I'm a little ocd and have some food waste/spillage trauma so I get very very annoyed if I spill any food especially onto bulky winter wear. I get extremely annoyed if someone else spills their food into my space or onto my clothes through their own negligence
I make a similar journey often and I FUCKING HATE the bay of bengal. Why can't airlines avoid it? Would gladly pay more for the ticket to avoid the BoB
Superstitious flyers wont like the hundreds of other flight numbers from crashes then
e.g. United flight 232 was a DC-10 crash that killed 112 people and injured 171
SQ232 is a SG-Sydney flight that SIA still operates now
Even on a more recent note, remember JAL516? The A350 that crashed into a coast guard plane at Haneda?
SQ has a flight 516. SG to Kolkata. Still use the same flight number
Bro, Yangon or Myanmar as a country itself is in state of internal war everywhere recently due to their military coup. There's zero reasoning to land there in order to seek help for such emergency patients, while the Bangkok is just like 1 more hr away.
That doesn't mean Yangon has capability to provide with sufficient emergency medical arrangements, currently. The city is in dire state, including the hospitals. Don't forget about the military occupancy everywhere too. Things can only get worse for this emergency patients.
There’s sufficient private hospital in Yangon if there’s a need to do so.
from airline perspective. bkk is a bigger and more equip hub and they have a lot of flights daily that can better facilitate transfer. If it’s dangerous, they would have suspended all flights for the safety of the crew.
Side note Yangon is generally fine, they won’t bother tourist much. Personally I plan to visit friends again after the rainy season. Visit for yourself
Coincidence. Weather changes by the hour. They aren’t changing course for wind that happened 24 hours ago.
Yeah in fact the route to Bangkok is different most of the time
OP can look at the last 6 flights before this incident and see they all have minor route adjustments. Not only weather, but traffic as well.
I think it just being "Kiasu" / extra safety precautions. Imagine getting so unlucky and it happen at the same spot. What will happen to SIA rep / stock if happen again?
I can imagine the passengers on this flight all buckled in, just waiting for something to happen.
Was just on SQ319 from LHR to SIN. The immediate next flight after SQ321 on the same route just with A380 instead of 777. Crew were extra careful. Whenever the seatbelt sign came on the pilot would explain what kind of turbulence they were expecting etc. First meal service was interrupted halfway in anticipation of light to medium turbulence which thankfully didn't materialise. Second meal service was served unusually late, about 1.5 hours to landing. I guess they didn't want to take the chance serving meals over the Andaman sea Overall quite uneventful (thankfully) but compared to my flight from SIN LHR I didn't really see people loitering around the toilets (on my previous flight many were there just to stretch)
As of today they changed the meal serving time from 2 hours prior to landing to 3 hours. 1.5 is way too late to finish 3 course meal. The crew is also prohibited from performing any tasks while the seatbelt sign is on (temporary measures), which disrupts their usual procedures.
I believe that Singapore Airline (SQ) is doing the right things with all these newly implemented procedures. It is not just about the revenue - but for the safety, and the reputation risk of Singapore Airline (SQ). Although what happened, or took place recently is considered "an act of god" something that they cannot control - but within SQ, they will find a way to mitigate this risk.
I give it 1-2 months before they revert to the original protocol once everyone forget about it and moved on . Flying is no more dangerous today than a month ago. The new changes are too disruptive to their workflow and passengers' sleep schedules, with food potentially being served an hour before landing or even 6 hours before landing. At that point, it’s no different from flying with a layover.
Thank you for your comments on the second portion. Unfortunately, I’ve not flown the route passing through the Irrawaddy Basin - so I cannot comment on the service schedule. But thank for giving me some clue on the service schedule to Europe.
I had two friends on the same flight as you. It’s crazy how had they booked the earlier one, they could have been in that same incident. Now they’re really scared to fly again.
Yeah we had also almost booked the earlier flight as our initial thought was to come back earlier and rest and unpack on Vesak Day before going back to work...
Probably on most flights coming in from Western Europe.
Even if the route is over the sea, it is also turbulent. This area over Bay of Bengal is always bad. Used to fly this route regularly and it was already bad then. It is worse now with climate change.
Yup. I've been flying this route for over 25 years and I've learnt to use the bathroom before or after that.
but what if its a 10 hour flight?
?
you gonna hold your pee for 10 hours straight?
What to are you replying to in the first place? Please read the thread first. Add: I'm referring to the bay of bengal. Not the whole flight.
wear diapers if u must
Even BOM - SIN SQ 423 goes over the Bay of Bengal & pilots on this route usually warn you about “slightly bumpy at the Bay of Bengal.. but otherwise fair” I felt like it was common knowledge that the Bay of Bengal is kinda always usually turbulent except when I recently flew in February I didn’t feel a thing.
it’s the monsoons I think - I might be wrong but they start around this time in the bay of bengal
Yup. Pretty much monsoon time around that area & India too.
Can any aviation expert explain why airlines don't want to fly over the thailand-myanmar land area instead of the Bay of Bengal which is notorious for CAT? Why??
SQ321 CAT happened while flying overland above Myanmar, so that area is equally prone to CAT as well?
This is cyclone season in Myanmar. They had a YUGE Cat 5 storm in the area last year (Cyclone Mocha), and the impact was horrendous.
No, it was over the sea
FR24 reports that the episode occurred around 7:49 AM UTC, which places the flight squarely over land, above Payagyi Flight playback: [https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/sq321#354eb60f](https://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/sq321#354eb60f) Not that it really matters since it's a tiny strip and air disturbances from storms can extend several miles in every direction, but since it's a point of contention here for some reason...
I’m sure the toilets are all empty at this juncture, unless absolutely necessary.
everyone holding their pee in...
I was flying from Zurich yesterday, right around the same time as the SQ flight. Our path was similar to what this flight is taking today. There was some turbulence, but not bad. LX176 Feel very lucky.
Plane is probably traumatised if sentient
I am flying to back and fro london next week, can't help feeling a little nervous lol
Last year it was a British Airways 777-300ER from sg to London hitting turbulence same spot. They flew back to sg as crew was injured
Wear your seatbelt at all times when seated and you will be fine
even after the plane has touch down, many times Ive heard people unbuckle once landing gear impact on the ground.... the plane is still moving at a fast speed.
These ppl only kiasu want get off early But even after wheels touch runway it still isnt considered safe yet. Lots of stuff that can go horribly wrong. e.g. Aborted landing gone wrong (Emirates 571, TAP 754 near miss), Runway overrun (Lionair 904, Garuda 200), Runway incursion (USair 1493 and Skywest 5569, JAL 516 and JA722A, tons of near misses in US recently with an upwards trend) all are examples of stuff that can go wrong Even during taxi, i wouldnt get up. Planes normally taxi at about 20-30 knots. Thats 40-55kmh You driving car on road also dont stand up, but when in a plane at the same speed suddenly want to stand up. Make it make sense
Counterpoint: standing on public buses or MRT
>standing on public buses or MRT When things go wrong, they still go wrong just as bad on both Like the recent case where a bus crashed into a barrier at Changi airport [and 21 people had to be brought to the hospital because of it](https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/bus-accident-changi-airport-t3-road-blocker-service-858-hospital-injured-4354481) And if the choice is between standing or sitting down with a seatbelt, pretty sure the seatbelts gonna be the safer option MRT though at least has safety systems to prevent a crash. The most that would happen is probably just an emergency brake rather than full on crash. Force of impact is also a lot larger in a aircraft accident since the plane has a lot more inertia due to its much larger mass
Not uncommon to see the kiasu ones already standing up and grabbing their bags from the overhead cabin by then actually
Yea, those ones are pretty dumb A lot of shit can go wrong from gear touching ground to the gate Aborted landing gone wrong (Emirates 571, TAP 754 near miss), Runway overrun (Lionair 904, Garuda 200), Runway incursion (USair 1493 and Skywest 5569, JAL 516 and JA722A, tons of near misses in US recently with an upwards trend) all are examples of stuff that can go wrong these people never learn do they
> Ive heard people unbuckle once landing gear impact on the ground In the air law / flight regulations of many jurisdictions it is a **requirement** that pax have seatbelts fastened during taxi And where it's not required it would also be part of the airlines SOP requirements in the flight manual...
Being strapped in won't help you if a drinks cart gets launched in your face. Certainly mitigate the risk, but plenty of other things can go wrong.
Same goes for walking, you can do all the checks before taking a step then someone comes along and stab you in the neck. Are you gonna stop walking then?
Calm down, I think you misunderstood my comment. I'm just saying it doesn't eliminate the risk entirely. I do agree with strapping in.
This flight happens daily for years and years, without turbulence. The chances of happening on your flight are near zero
The best response people. Just get on with it.
It's always this spot. I live in Frankfurt and frequently travel back to Sg via Duabi, and everytime our Dubai - Singapore flight passes this patch over the sea, it's 30 mins of nonstop severe turbulence, even on the A380 Superjumbo. What's worse is that Emirates schedules their 'breakfast' service right around this time, so it's always a struggle to prevent your coffee from spilling everytime we fly over this area
> always a struggle to prevent your coffee from spilling I used to often commute back to SG too My solution is non-slip mats. I get them from dollar stores and they go into my passport pouch. Small and rubberized, they keep my tray on the foldout table so I can eat with one hand without fear of spillage. I take my hot beverages in a thermos bottle so I can enjoy it over a longer duration. I'm a little ocd and have some food waste/spillage trauma so I get very very annoyed if I spill any food especially onto bulky winter wear. I get extremely annoyed if someone else spills their food into my space or onto my clothes through their own negligence
Same experience when I lived in Singapore. During my travels to Europe, that area would always be awful because of turbulence.
I make a similar journey often and I FUCKING HATE the bay of bengal. Why can't airlines avoid it? Would gladly pay more for the ticket to avoid the BoB
Over Andaman sea is always choppy no matter which route you take . The flights to india always face turbulence
Yeah, sometimes same over pacific ocean near Taiwan n Japan also
Damn, that flight number is gonna scare those superstitious flyers.
Especially the 3-2-1 sounds a bit like counting down to... impact?
Superstitious flyers wont like the hundreds of other flight numbers from crashes then e.g. United flight 232 was a DC-10 crash that killed 112 people and injured 171 SQ232 is a SG-Sydney flight that SIA still operates now Even on a more recent note, remember JAL516? The A350 that crashed into a coast guard plane at Haneda? SQ has a flight 516. SG to Kolkata. Still use the same flight number
Where was the turbulence spot occurred yesterday on this map?
Flying over southern end of Myanmar yesterday. The land closest to the plane on this map, where the white box is
Oh, that's near Yangon city.
I was surprised they never land in Yangon
Bro, Yangon or Myanmar as a country itself is in state of internal war everywhere recently due to their military coup. There's zero reasoning to land there in order to seek help for such emergency patients, while the Bangkok is just like 1 more hr away.
SQ flies to Yangon as well.
That doesn't mean Yangon has capability to provide with sufficient emergency medical arrangements, currently. The city is in dire state, including the hospitals. Don't forget about the military occupancy everywhere too. Things can only get worse for this emergency patients.
The airport probably doesn’t have capacity
There’s sufficient private hospital in Yangon if there’s a need to do so. from airline perspective. bkk is a bigger and more equip hub and they have a lot of flights daily that can better facilitate transfer. If it’s dangerous, they would have suspended all flights for the safety of the crew. Side note Yangon is generally fine, they won’t bother tourist much. Personally I plan to visit friends again after the rainy season. Visit for yourself
Bangkok has a bigger station and better facilities in all aspects.
1 “less” hour could save more people from suffering injuries or even could save a people whom’s having heart attack
Probably cos of the political situation
They stop where they can get adequate assistance.
Bet the pilots leaned on the seat belt sign all the way.
Need to go toilet how?
You don't. It's on for a reason. The consequence is potentially fatal as we have learnt.
Wear diapers
Pee on the floor…
They need to show that skit from key and peele for people to keep the seat belt on
The original route that passes over Iranian airspace did not go through the spot where the severe turbulence occurred.
back in action so soon?
90 yes 4 h K
one will dream about how much compensation would be given to the passengers.
As if that will make up for the trauma of the extreme turbulence and the injuries many sustained.