What led to Changi Airport runway incident in 2024 involving 2 China Eastern Airlines jets

How the runway incursion happened

- Esther Loi

The failure of pilots aboard a China Eastern Airlines jet to heed an air traffic controller's instruction to abort its landing and attempt another approach led to a runway incident at Changi Airport in August 2024.

This happened as another plane from the same airline was still leaving the runway area after touching down a minute earlier.

The incident came to light after the Transport Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) published an investigation report on Aug 1, 2025.

It was classified as a runway incursion, which is when an unauthorized aircraft, vehicle or person is on or near a runway that is in use.

In this case, the aircraft that landed earlier was not yet clear of the runway strip when the second aircraft touched down.

The runway strip includes the runway and adjacent taxiways, which connect the runway with terminal buildings and other airport facilities.

Both aircraft originated from Shanghai Pudong International Airport in China.

The first aircraft, an Airbus A320-200neo, landed on Runway 20R at Changi Airport four seconds past 8:12 pm on Aug 28, 2024.

Knowing that the first and second aircraft might be in close proximity, the air traffic controller instructed the first aircraft to quicken its exit from the runway, which is 4km long.

The crew on the first aircraft made a left turn towards an adjacent rapid exit taxiway 47 seconds past 8:12 pm when its ground speed was about 63kmh, according to TSIB, a department in the Ministry of Transport.

The controller cleared the second aircraft, a Boeing 777-300ER, to land on that runway 55 seconds past 8:12 pm, as he assessed that the tail of the first aircraft was already clear of the edge of the runway.