S'pore Airlines plane on Hong Kong airport tarmac for 4 hours, then cancelled over technical issue

The passengers of a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight found themselves stuck on the tarmac at the Hong Kong International Airport for about four hours before they were eventually informed that the flight had been cancelled.

Plane encountered technical issue on the ground

In response to Mothership's queries, SIA said flight SQ893, operating from Hong Kong to Singapore on Sep. 10, encountered a technical issue on the ground.

This technical issue persisted despite multiple efforts by ground engineers to fix it.

The flight was subsequently cancelled, with all passengers and crew disembarking the craft normally.

SIA then transferred the affected passengers to alternative flights.

Plane was scheduled to take off at 3:40pm, passengers disembarked at 8pm

According to The Straits Times, the flight was scheduled to take off at 3:40pm.

The disembarkation of passengers took place at about 8pm.

A passenger surnamed Tan, aged 59, was quoted as saying that the captain had informed passengers that there was an issue with the plane and that engineers would be carrying out checks.

The crew also served them juice and water.

At one point, the air-conditioning and lights briefly went out, which made the cabin feel "warm and stuffy", she added.

Passengers were then told at 7:30pm that the flight was cancelled.

Tan said she was eventually rebooked on a Cathay Pacific flight slated to depart for Singapore at 1:40am on Sep. 11.

SIA added: "SIA sincerely apologises for the inconvenience caused. The safety of our customers and crew is always our top priority."

Top photo by Saif Zaman via Unsplash