Scoot provides explanation

Scoot has revealed that the activation of oxygen masks on board flight TR996 on Sunday, March 24 was initiated by its pilots.

Flight TR996 was travelling from Singapore to Taipei when it experienced abnormal cabin pressure during descent.

Passengers were not informed about the exact nature of the difficulties until now, two days after the incident occurred.

Pilots' decision as a precaution

Scoot said that “preliminary investigations indicated that the operating pilots made some procedural decisions in the descent phase of the flight that contributed to a slight loss of cabin pressure”, as per Channel News Asia.

Scoot claims the oxygen masks were deployed as a precaution. The flight would still have proceeded without problems.

“While the flight would have continued on safely, the operating pilots nevertheless decided to deploy the oxygen masks as a precautionary measure," Scoot said.

"The pilots will be undergoing retraining to address the gaps, and we apologise for the anxiety and inconveniences caused to passengers.”

12th known incident in 5 months

CNA reported this latest incident is the 12th known major flight disruption caused by aircraft technical issues that Scoot has experienced in five months since November 2018.

Scoot said that the A320 has since been grounded for investigations.

The Singapore to Taipei flight was on an Airbus A320-200.

What is being done now

Scoot is the budget carrier of Singapore Airlines.

Scoot will conduct additional tests before returning the aircraft to service.

Spares have already been flown in to recover the aircraft.

No injuries

No injuries to any of the 178 passengers on board the flight, were reported.

The plane landed safely at Taoyuan International Airport at around 1.15pm local time.

Only one passenger reported that her baby had vomited during the descent.

Top photo via Scoot & passenger on board Scoot flight