S'pore Airlines flight in Hong Kong delayed 3 hours as S'pore passenger, 71, deplaned for verbally abusing staff

A Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight from Hong Kong to Singapore on Sep. 10 was delayed for about three hours as a Singaporean passenger was verbally abusive to cabin crew prior to take-off.

This altercation was allegedly triggered by a request for alcoholic beverages before the plane could take off from Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA).

Police assistance was requested and the 71-year-old man was escorted off the plane.

Delayed for more than 3 hours

According to data from flightradar24.com, the flight from Hong Kong to Singapore was initially scheduled to take off at 8:25pm but only did so at 11:38pm.

It was also shown turning back on the tarmac in the direction it had come.

A Mothership reader onboard SQ897 said that the airline initially pushed back SQ897's departure time to 9:40pm to accommodate passengers from a separate flight, SQ893.

Flight SQ893 had been cancelled earlier that evening due to technical issues, after being stuck on the tarmac for more than four hours.

Affected passengers were transferred to other flights.

Passenger had altercation with staff over 'alcohol request'

However, SQ897 would not make it off the runway smoothly either.

"The plane was taxiing out to the runway at about 10:12pm when the captain announced there is an abusive passenger aboard," the reader said.

A video shared by the reader showed the tail end of a conversation between a man in a black shirt an SIA stewardess in the aisle.

The man raised his voice and also glared at her while speaking.

The reader said he heard that the passenger had been on the delayed flight SQ893, so he was "already unhappy about things".

While the reader did not catch what was initially said during the disagreement, he said that the man had apparently asked for alcohol as a pre-boarding drink before take-off.

Deplaned

About 10 minutes after the captain's announcement, a decision was made to return to the gate.

Subsequently, the man was escorted off the plane with his luggage in tow, along with a younger man.

"While they were sorting out the ground logistics, the man was scolding the crew, particularly a chief stewardess who he said was offensive to him. The crew around just took his insults," the reader said.

An airport bus and a police vehicle were also at the scene.

SIA flight staff could be seen conversing with police before returning to the aircraft.

No arrests were made: Hong Kong police

Local police told Hong Kong media outlet HK01 that the case was recorded as a "request for police assistance".

Police said the passenger involved was a 71-year-old Singaporean man, surnamed Tan.

Preliminary investigations showed that the incident did not involve any criminal elements and no arrests were made, police added.

Passenger was verbally abusive to cabin crew: SIA

In response to Mothership's enquiries, an SIA spokesperson confirmed that a passenger on board flight SQ897 was behaving in an unruly manner before the flight took off and repeatedly verbally abusing the cabin crew on board.

"Our pilots assessed the situation and decided to offload the passenger to ensure the safety of the other passengers and the operating crew," the spokesperson said.

The passenger was handed over to the local authorities at Hong Kong International Airport, the spokesperson noted.

The spokesperson apologised to all customers on board the flight for the inconvenience caused by the incident, but stressed that the safety of SIA customers and staff is their top priority.

"SIA believes that all our employees have a right to a safe and respectful workplace environment, and does not stand for abusive behaviour towards our staff."

Top image courtesy of Mothership reader.