SQ321 incident to have minimal financial impact as insurer will cover most related expenses, compensation: SIA

SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) expects its insurer to bear “most, if not all” of the expenses including compensation arising from the flight that hit severe turbulence which left one passenger dead and dozens injured.

Chief executive Goh Choon Phong said this in response to a shareholder who asked at SIA’s annual general meeting on Monday (Jul 29) about the carrier’s financial exposure to the incident.

“You are correct that we are insured and we expect that most, if not all, the SQ321-related expenses including compensation will be borne by the insurer,” said Goh, who did not give a figure for the expenses nor name the insurer.

Flight SQ321 hit turbulence en route to Singapore from London when the plane was flying over Myanmar on May 21, resulting in one fatality and multiple injured. The plane made an emergency landing in Bangkok.

SIA is offering passengers with minor injuries US$10,000 each. Those severely hurt were offered US$25,000 each to “address their immediate needs” while the parties hammer out any further compensation.

SIA had earlier said that it will also provide a full airfare refund – along with delay compensation in line with relevant European Union or UK regulations – to all passengers who were aboard that fateful flight. These included those who did not sustain any injuries.

Each passenger was further provided a sum of S$1,000 to meet their immediate expenses upon departure from Bangkok.

To a shareholder who asked for a scrip dividend, chairman Peter Seah said the board would consider the suggestion. But he pointed out that some shareholders – especially the elderly – prefer to take the payout in cash rather than having the dividend reinvested in more SIA shares.

All 11 resolutions, including the final dividend of S$0.38 per share, were passed during the one-hour proceedings held at Marina Bay Sands Expo and Convention Centre.

SIA posted S$2.7 billion in earnings – an all-time high – for the year ended Mar 31, up 24 per cent from the year before. Revenue also rose by 7 per cent year on year at a record-high of S$19 billion.

Shares in the carrier were trading flat at S$6.97 at 1.50 pm on Monday.