SINGAPORE: An Emirates flight on transit to Dubai was delayed for 76 minutes on Thursday after cabin crew found an unidentified powder-like substance in a toilet on board the plane.
As a precaution, the airline alerted airport authorities after it landed at Changi Airport from Brisbane at about 8.20am.
A Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) hazardous materials (hazmat) team, wearing decontamination suits, then boarded the plane. No passengers were on board the plane at that time.
SCDF said the substance was found to be a disinfectant.
And the aircraft was cleared for boarding.
The flight, EK433, departed Singapore for Dubai at about 10.56am.
Emirates said it "regrets the inconvenience caused but the safety and well-being of passengers and crew is paramount".
-CNA/ac/ir
-
Dickson Tang:
This article proves that our civil services are indeed working hard to maintain law and order within our country. Also, Emirates has shown itself as a trustworthy airline by reporting such an incident even though it might potentially damage their image to the passengers in the flight and its such a minor incident. It also shows that Emirates Airlines has placed its passengers first and that is extremely commendable. After all, lives are more important than everything else.
Jonathan Ho:
In my personal opinion, I think the cabin crew was right to report the unidentified power-like substance to the airport authorities. Who knows it could have led to a serious consequence if it was a bio-terrorism. The SCDF was also swift and professional in assisting in the situation and cleared the air quickly. Fortunately, the substance happened to be just a disinfectant.
Joycelyn Yong:
After reading this article, I feel even safer to be living in Singapore now. It is apparent that security in Singapore is rather tight the fact that they went all out from getting the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) hazardous materials (hazmat) team down to the plane specially for an unidentified powder-like substance found in its toilet to only allowing passengers' boarding after making sure the substance is a disinfectant. Although the Emirates flight on transit to Dubai was delayed for 76 minutes, I believe the precautions were absolutely right and for the passengers' good. Nobody should complain at all. Everyone should be glad to board a plane checked and cleared. We should be thankful and appreciate the effort of both Emirates and the SCDF team.
Oh Yi Hong:
What could be more important than your life? In the article, the cabin crew found a powder-like substance and suspects that it could be a danger to humans and hence alerted our local airport authorities. Because of this, the flight was delayed by about 76 minutes while the Civil Defence Force took the substance and examines what it is.
Life, something that is fragile yet wonderful. With your life, you can do many things you want to do, like working, get married, exploring new places and many more. But, if you are dead, you will not be able to do anything, you will not be able to even walk or talk or breathe or look!
If the 76 minutes can saves more than a hundred people, I will be willing to wait patiently for the experts to examine if that substance could be a danger to us. If I am in-charge of Emirates, I will also do the same thing, as the 76 minutes can help to save hundreds of passengers and also to protect my own employees.
Yin Shuwen:
I feel that such precaution measure by the airline is imperative even though the matter is seemingly of a small magnitude. This is because the powder-like substance might be a hazardous material and endanger the passengers' safety if not attended to when the passengers board the plane. Hence, due to the safety concerns, it is of utmost importance that the SCDF is alerted to attend to the problem instead of trying to solve it themselves. Even though the matter incurs a 76min delay, the safety of the passengers are accounted for. As such, I feel that this is a reasonable tradeoff and that the decision to call in the SCDF was a wise one.
No comments:
Post a Comment