Google – AFP, Bhavan Jaipragas (AFP), 6 January 2014
 |
A Singapore
Airlines' Airbus A380 passenger jet in Singapore on
November 23, 2009
(AFP/File, Laurent Fievet)
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Singapore —
A Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 superjumbo made an emergency landing in
Azerbaijan on Monday due to a loss of cabin pressure, leaving hundreds of
passengers stranded at the airport in the capital Baku.
The service
from London to Singapore landed safely without any injuries to the 467
passengers and 27 crew on board, a Singapore Airlines spokesman said.
"Oxygen
masks were deployed and the aircraft landed uneventfully at Baku airport at
01:03 (2103 GMT Sunday)," he told AFP by email.
In a
statement posted on its Facebook site at 1100 GMT, the carrier said a
replacement aircraft had left Singapore and was due to arrive in Baku at around
1900 GMT on Monday.
It is
expected to land in Singapore on Tuesday afternoon.
"We
sincerely apologise to affected customers for the inconvenience caused by the
diversion and the lengthy delay encountered at the airport in Baku," the
airline said.
Airbus said
in a statement it was "following up on this issue and providing technical
assistance to the airline".
Angry
passengers took to social media to complain about being stranded in the Heydar
Aliyev International Airport instead of being put up in hotels.
"We
are not going to a hotel but will be flying out tonight after an 18-hour wait
around the duty-free area," wrote passenger Nic Coulthard on the Singapore
Airlines Facebook page at 0930 GMT.
"I
don't think it is inconsistent for passengers to be grateful for a safe landing
whilst disappointed at the lack of communication and facilities provided once
on the ground," he wrote.
Another
passenger, Terri Mann, complained that she had to sleep on a "cold steel
bench" with her 17-month old child, and that there were no "food
places" at the airport.
"We
are all a little hesitant about getting on our next legs of our journeys, just
hope the worst is over," she wrote.
Responding
to a flood of posts on Facebook, Singapore Airlines noted that noise was
reported from a door during an earlier flight of the same plane.
"The
door was inspected by engineers on the ground in London with no findings, and
the aircraft was cleared for continued operation," it said.
Passenger
Matthew G. Johnson had said earlier that a "loud air noise was heard from
the door five rows in front" shortly after take-off from Heathrow Airport
in London.
Upon
questioning, a crew member allegedly told him that the door had a
"mild" leaking seal, Johnson said in a Facebook posting.
A few hours
later oxygen masks were deployed and the aircraft began an emergency descent
over Afghanistan after the cabin began losing pressure, he said.
His posting
was accompanied by a photograph of a dimly lit cabin with oxygen masks hanging
from the ceiling.
Singapore
Airlines has a fleet of 19 Airbus A380s with five others on order, according to
its website.
The planes
are used for flights from Singapore to various destinations including
Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London and Los Angeles.
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