On Tuesday, Singapore Airlines (SIA) revealed that it had offered affected passengers a sum of $10,000 as compensation for minor injuries in one of its planes following the intense turbulence experienced a month ago. However, SIA said it would be discussing with those who were more seriously hurt to determine an increased amount of compensation.
The accident happened to flight SQ321 from London to Singapore which was operated by Boeing 777-300ER with 211 passengers and 18 crew members on board. The plane abruptly encountered turbulence over Irrawaddy basin on May 20th, throwing people and items across the cabin.
A British man aged seventy-three died while other passengers and flight attendants sustained skull, brain and spinal cord injuries during this dreadful mid-air incident. The crew decided to divert the aircraft to Bangkok where the injured were taken to hospitals.
In their statement on Tuesday, SIA pointed out that they had made efforts to reach these clients by sending them emails containing an offer for each one of them being compensated USD10, 000.
“The airline has invited such survivors to negotiate appropriate compensation arrangements that will meet their respective specific circumstances when they are ready,” added the carrier.
This is among other things why it states: “Passengers assessed medically as having suffered severe injuries requiring long-term medical care and requesting financial assistance are paid upfront sums of US$25,000 for emergency purposes.”
Accordingly, this is a portion of what would be given to these victims as final settlement,” added the airline.
Furthermore, regardless if any passenger went through this terrible phase or not; SIA has stated that all their air fares will be reimbursed.
“Delay compensations in accordance with relevant EU or UK laws,” read another part of the statement
In fact a spokesperson at SIA disclosed that as at Tuesday afternoon there were still 11 persons from that plane admitted in hospitals in Bangkok though receiving treatment.
Under Montreal Convention airlines are held responsible for any damages caused by physical injuries to or death of a passenger on board an aircraft. “Severity of each passenger’s injury ascertains the compensation amounts based on information currently provided by relevant medical institutions” explained the SIA spokespersons.
Furthermore, he added that “We will also bear in mind that those passengers with more severe injuries may need additional support based on their unique situations.”
A few days ago, before this was announced, SIA had already given thousand Singapore dollars ($740) per person leaving Bangkok for home destinations to cater for immediate expenses.
Additionally, they have been paying all costs incurred by the injured passengers and facilitated the travel of family members to Bangkok when requested.
“Singapore Airlines remains committed to supporting the affected passengers who were onboard SQ321.” confirmed SIA.
According to Singapore’s transport ministry, while flying over southern Myanmar aircraft suddenly suffered a 54 meter (177ft) altitude drop which threw unbelted passengers around their cabins.
It is believed that turbulence occurred during meal services when many passengers were not wearing seat belts,” authorities said. Onboard discussions between employees and travelers revealed a horrifying experience where objects shook violently and some flew high up into space.
According to the ministry, it was a “quick shift” in G-force that caused the incident as per the preliminary report by Singapore’s Transport Safety Investigation Bureau.
The investigative group who carried out this examination comprised of TSIB professionals, US National Transportation Safety Board staff, US Federal Aviation Administration members, and the airplane maker Boeing.
