Wear seatbelts for whole flight, passengers told

Carriers are toughening up safety instructions in the wake of a British man’s death after severe turbulence hit a Singapore Airlines flight.

More than 100 people were taken to hospital after severe turbulence hit a Singapore Airlines flight last month. Picture: Twitter

Airlines will amend their safety briefings to urge passengers to always wear seatbelts after the Singapore Airlines incident that left a British pensioner dead, The Times has been told.

Safety teams at dozens of airlines are understood to be reviewing how to compel passengers to keep their belts on even when the seatbelt sign is off.

Captains at many major airlines are already emphasising the need to be strapped in during their pre-departure PA messaging. Seatbelt signs are also being turned on faster, even in mild turbulence.

Safety briefings have already been adapted in recent years to place a greater emphasis on the danger posed by lithium-ion batteries in mobile phones and battery packs.

Passengers are now told to inform the crew immediately if their phone gets stuck in their seat. They are urged not to move the seat for fear of damaging the battery and causing a fire in the cabin.

Chief executives of airlines are said to be increasingly concerned that they could be the next to have an incident caused by turbulence.

Some 21 global airlines have signed up to trade body Iata’s “turbulence aware” program that gives advance warning to cockpits and flight planners. The topic is expected to be high on the agenda at the body’s annual conference in Dubai this week.

Sir Tim Clark, the president of Emirates, said: “We’ve had our own fair share of issues. Not as bad as Singapore Airlines but, let’s be quite honest, it’s a real race and the whole industry is now upping in the game with regard to making sure that passengers are strapped in. We are looking at all the protocols.”

Singapore Airlines Flight 321 encountered severe turbulence earlier this month and dropped 178ft in fewer than five seconds, with passengers experiencing a violent seesaw motion.

Geoffrey Kitchen, a 73-year-old musical theatre director from outside Bristol, was killed and more than 100 passengers were admitted to hospital as a result of the incident.

A British telecoms engineer knocked unconscious on the same flight is undergoing treatment for six spine and neck fractures. Bradley Richards, from Benfleet, Essex, described the emergency, during which he woke up with blood pouring from his head, as “frantic” and like “something out of a movie”.

Sources said the issue was of “extreme concern” to airlines and changes were afoot. One senior aviation source said: “Airline bosses are terrified by the Singapore event. They know they could be next and it worries them. There’s a concerted effort in the industry now to adapt, and [safety] briefings are going to be at the heart of it.

“The messaging is going to be massively strengthened: it’ll be ‘Stay strapped in at all times’. End of.”

IATA has launched a new platform where airline captains can report areas of turbulence to aid flight planners. Airlines are also increasingly using AI to try and predict areas where flights will experience bumps.

Paul Charles, who runs the PC agency, a consultancy, said: “Many airlines are moving quickly to try and reassure flyers. This is the most significant change to on-board safety advice for at least two decades and travellers should now always plan to buckle up.”

The Times