Hugs and tears as passengers and crew on SQ32I arrive at Changi

Another 7 passengers, six crew members still in Bangkok, with 20 in intensive care

- Ng Keng Gene

There were hugs and some tears as passengers who were on Flight SQ321 reunited with worried family members and loved ones at Changi Airport Terminal 2 early in the morning on May 22.

Airport staff and personnel wearing Singapore Airlines vests escorted the passengers out of the baggage collection area after their relief flight landed, before ushering them to the arrival pick-up point, bus bay or T2 carpark.

Their uneventful departure from the airport was a stark contrast to the ordeal that the passengers had faced the day before, when SQ321 experienced sudden extreme turbulence over the Irrawaddy Basin about 10 hours after departing from London.

The turbulence caused one death and injured dozens of passengers, and the pilot made an emergency landing at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport.

SIA said in a Facebook post on May 22 that 131 passengers and 12 crew members who were on board SQ321 arrived in Singapore via a relief flight at 5.05am. They were received by SIA chief executive Goh Choon Phong.

In a subsequent update, SIA said an additional five passengers will be returning to Singapore on May 22. Another 74 passengers and six crew members are still in Bangkok, SIA added. They include those receiving medical care - 20 are in intensive care as well as their family members and loved ones who were on the flight. One crew member is scheduled to head home on May 23.

According to data from flight tracker FlightRadar24, the relief

flight that brought the passengers from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Changi Airport SQ9071 left Bangkok at about 3.10am Singapore time.