SIA flight bound for S'pore diverted after 'unruly' passenger injures himself

A Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight that was bound for Singapore ended up getting diverted back to San Francisco due to an unruly passenger just a few hours after takeoff on Oct. 14.

Passenger injured himself

An SIA spokesperson told Mothership in an Oct. 16 media reply that the unruly passenger on flight SQ31 had injured himself in the incident but did not reveal further details of his actions.

Returned to San Francisco

The SIA spokesperson said the pilots "assessed the situation and decided to return to San Francisco".

"The aircraft landed uneventfully at San Francisco International Airport at 8:41pm local time," the spokesperson added.

After the flight landed, the passenger was handed over to local authorites.

Checks by Mothership on flight tracking website FlightAware showed that at about 11:51am local time on Oct. 14 (2:51am Singapore time on Oct. 15), the flight had departed San Francisco.

It had been scheduled to land in Singapore at about 7pm on Oct. 15.

Following the incident, the plane landed uneventfully back at San Francisco International Airport nearly nine hours after takeoff at 8:41pm.

"SIA is working closely with the relevant authorities on this matter," the spokesperson added, noting that the flight departed from San Francisco at 11:18pm local time with a new set of crew members.

Safety is top priority

SIA sincerely apologised for the inconvenience caused and said it is providing the necessary assistance, including rebooking of connecting flights.

The spokesperson said: "We thank our customers and crew members who assisted in managing the situation on board the flight.

"The safety of our customers and staff is our top priority."