Unruly passenger forces Singapore-bound SIA flight back to San Francisco

A Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight bound for Singapore returned to San Francisco after a passenger became unruly and injured himself on board.

The incident occurred on flight SQ31, which departed San Francisco International Airport in the US at 11.51am local time (2.51am Singapore time) on Thursday (Oct 15).

An SIA spokesperson, in response to AsiaOne's queries, said that a flight crew assessed the situation and decided to return to San Francisco.

The passenger was handed over to local authorities after the plane landed, the airline said.

The aircraft landed safely at San Francisco International Airport at about 8.40pm, nearly nine hours after its departure.

The flight was originally scheduled to arrive in Singapore at around 7pm on Thursday, based on information from Changi Airport's live flight tracking website.

The delayed flight subsequently departed San Francisco at about 11.20pm with a new set of crew members, SIA said.

The airline apologised for the inconvenience caused and said it was providing affected passengers with assistance, including help with rebooking connecting flights.

SIA added that it was working closely with the relevant authorities to address the incident.

"We thank our customers and crew members who assisted in managing the situation on board the flight," the spokesperson said.

"The safety of our customers and staff is our top priority."

asyiqin.nadzri@asiaone.com

一架新加坡航空公司（新航）飞往新加坡的航班，因一名乘客在机上行为不端并受伤而返回旧金山。

该事件发生在SQ31航班上，该航班于10月15日星期四上午11点51分（新加坡时间凌晨2点51分）从美国旧金山国际机场起飞。

新加坡航空发言人回应AsiaOne的询问时表示，机组人员评估了情况后决定返回旧金山。

航空公司表示，飞机着陆后，该乘客被移交给当地政府。

飞机于晚上 8 点 40 分左右安全降落在旧金山国际机场，距离起飞已过去了近 9 个小时。

根据樟宜机场实时航班跟踪网站的信息，该航班原定于周四晚上7点左右抵达新加坡。

新加坡航空公司表示，延误的航班随后于晚上 11 点 20 分左右从旧金山起飞，并更换了机组人员。

航空公司就造成的不便表示歉意，并表示正在为受影响的乘客提供帮助，包括协助重新预订转机航班。

新加坡航空公司补充说，公司正与相关部门密切合作，处理这起事件。

发言人表示：“我们感谢协助处理机上情况的乘客和机组人员。”

“顾客和员工的安全是我们的首要任务。”

asyiqin.nadzri@asiaone.com