SIA passengers from Sapporo to S'pore stuck in cabin for hours as plane has to turn back

A Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight from Sapporo to Singapore took off but returned to the runway, leaving passengers stuck aboard for close to eight hours in total.

On Jan. 10, 2026, flight SQ661 was originally scheduled to depart from Hokkaido's New Chitose Airport at 9:30am and arrive at Changi Airport at 5:05pm local time.

However, soon after take-off, passengers were informed that the plane had to return to the airport.

As buses were needed to bring passengers to the main terminal, some passengers only disembarked the plane and boarded the bus after 5 pm local time.

In a statement to Mothership, the SIA spokesperson stated that the airline sincerely apologises to all customers on flight SQ661 that was scheduled to operate from Sapporo to Singapore on Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026.

Plane had to return to airport

A Mothership reader, Jermaine, recounted that the flight, which was supposed to depart at 9:30am, only took off around 10:30am, and the plane soon turned back.

"We first took to air at around 10:30am but around 11:25am we were informed that the plane had to return back to the airport."

In response to Mothership's queries, SIA stated that the "Airbus A350-900 medium-haul aircraft, with 301 customers on board, departed Sapporo at 10:14am".

Shortly after take-off, the plane "returned to Sapporo due to a technical issue and landed safely at 11:30am".

Upon arrival back at New Chitose Airport, "the aircraft was assigned a remote parking bay as engineers investigated the issue".

Jermaine stated that passengers were told that checks had to be done and that the plane "might be able to fly by 1:15pm".

"1:15pm came and went, and at 2:15pm we were finally told our plane would no longer be able to take off."

According to other passenger accounts reported by Lianhe Zaobao, the plane cabin had no air conditioning for a period of time.

Took a while

At around 3:20pm, passengers were apparently told that the buses would take a while and cabin crew started serving food in the meantime.

However, only one bus came, and Jermaine heard only 20 people could occupy the bus at a single time.

As Jermaine's family was seated in economy, they finally left the plane for the bus at 5:36pm after having sat on the plane since around 9am.

The SIA spokesperson stated that ramp bus availability was limited due to the peak travel season constraints in Sapporo.

"We regret that disembarkation took longer than expected. The final group of customers disembarked after 1700hrs (local time)."

Availability limited due to peak travel season

Once they reached the airport, the family was greeted with two queues, one for accommodation and another for flights home.

"No one was helping and we had to get information from all other passengers."

The SIA spokesperson also stated that "seat availability on other flights from Sapporo to Singapore was also limited due to the peak travel season". 

SIA stated that it provided "regular updates, arranged hotel accommodation, land transport options, and meals in Sapporo and Chitose where possible".

Customers who made alternative arrangements for their hotel accommodation and meals would also be reimbursed.

According to Zaobao, a letter sent to those affected mentioned that the airlines will reimburse each person for two meals, including dinner and breakfast, up to a maximum of 8,000 Yen (S$65). 

Passengers who arrange their own hotel accommodations in Hokkaido could also receive reimbursement of up to 30,000 yen (S$244) per room per night upon presentation of receipts.

Additionally, round-trip transportation costs between New Chitose Airport and the hotel can also be reimbursed upon presentation of receipts.

Jermaine also stated that SIA reached out and offered an SIA gift voucher as a token of apology.

The voucher can be used on KrisShop or onboard selected SIA flights.

Passengers faced other issues

Once exiting the departure area, passengers allegedly had trouble securing taxis.

Another passenger told Zaobao that information regarding baggage collection was confusing and not arranged until almost 8pm.

The flight was rescheduled to fly at 10:30am on Jan. 11, 2026 under SQ9661.

According to SIA, the flight departed New Chitose Airport for Singapore at 10:57am and landed at 6:24pm.

SIA stated that it "also assisted customers with rebooking their connecting flights from Singapore".

Jermaine called the entire incident "truly upsetting".

Top photo from Jermaine and Zaobao.