Singapore — Scoot Flight TR567, which departed from Tiruchirappalli in India and was on its way to Singapore early on Monday morning, May 20, had to make an emergency landing at Chennai International Airport after a smoke warning went off in the cargo area of the plane.
The pilots, concerned about a possible fire in the cargo area, decided to land in Chennai. The flight, which departed at 1:30 am local time, had been in the air for more than an hour when the warning sounded.
The pilot was able to land the Airbus A-320 without mishap, keeping all 165 passengers and six crew members on board safe. A spokesman for the company said that the passengers were able to disembark at Chennai normally.
Scoot released a statement saying that the emergency landing was taken as a precautionary measure. Flight TR567 arrived in Chennai without further incident at 3:40 am, local time.
The flight company also said that the warning that had been triggered, which caused the pilots to go for an emergency landing, had been a false one. “The aircraft has been grounded for investigations and preliminary assessment indicates a false warning,” the statement said.
The airline added that nevertheless, passengers’ safety is the first priority. “The safety of our customers are Scoot’s highest consideration. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
Scoot arranged for hotel accommodation and meals for the passengers as they waited for their next flight to Singapore.
The company sent a replacement flight to Chennai to bring the passengers to Singapore, scheduled to leave less than 12 hours after the emergency landing. They were expected to leave Chennai at 3:30 pm, and to arrive at Changi Airport by 10:00 in the evening./ TISG