Officials gather around the Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER airplane, which was headed to Singapore from London before making an emergency landing in Bangkok due to severe turbulence, as it is parked on the tarmac at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok on May 22, 2024.
Flight SQ321 was en route from London to Singapore on May 21 when it encountered severe turbulence as it entered Thai airspace. The giant Boeing Co. 777 jet made an emergency landing in Bangkok. One passenger died and many were hospitalized with serious head, neck and spinal injuries. As of Monday, 21 passengers who were on board are still receiving medical treatment at clinics in Bangkok, Singapore Air said in an update.
IATA Director General Willie Walsh said he doesn’t think there’s a growing turbulence problem, rather that there are more flights — an expected 39 million this year versus around 20 million a year back in 2000 and 2001. “I was a pilot for 20 years, it’s not as if turbulence has just developed,” he said.