Passengers could soon be forced to wear seatbelts throughout their flight, under the airline’s new rules.
The change in safety requirements comes after the Singapore Airlines incident which resulted in the death of a passenger following unexpected turbulence.
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Last month, 73-year-old Geoffrey Kitchen died after his Singapore Airlines Boeing 777 plunged nearly 55 meters in seconds, with more than 100 people initially hospitalized.
And new rules could soon restrict passengers from removing their seatbelts during flights in a bid to prevent a similar incident.
Safety experts from several airlines are said to be looking at how this change would be introduced, the Times reports.
An aviation source, which remained anonymoussaid the incident left airline bosses “terrified […] they could be next“.
They added: “The message will be enormously strengthened: it will be ‘Stay locked in at all times’.
Emirates chairman Sir Tim Clark told the newspaper that “the whole industry is now getting into the game” to try to get passengers to stay seat belted throughout the flight.
He said: “We are looking at all the protocols.”
If introduced, it would be one of the most significant changes to safety rules in two decades, according to travel expert Paul Charles.
Further rules are already being introduced in light of the incident.
Last month, Singapore Airlines confirmed it would no longer serve hot drinks or meals when the seatbelt sign was on.
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They have also rerouted one of their flights – the London-Singapore route will no longer pass over Myanmar, where the turbulence occurred.
Aviation expert and former RAF pilot David Learmount told the Sun he had “never experienced” this level of turbulence before, which sent the plane plummeting thousands of feet within minutes.
He said: “Now the indication is that the crew did not know this turbulence was coming, or they did not expect it to be something like it actually happened.
“So everyone on the aircraft was relatively unprepared and that is dangerous.
“If you have your seat belt loosely fastened all the time, this kind of disaster won’t happen to you.”
“It would be very uncomfortable, but at least you won’t be thrown into the ceiling.”
And a series of other turbulence-related accidents have caused injuries in recent months.
Passenger Philip Crossdale suffered severe whiplash after sudden turbulence caused the plane to “plummet”.
He said: “Everyone who wasn’t locked up literally hit the ceiling. Be it once or twice.
“There was food everywhere. People’s iPads and tablets were flying around the cabin and hitting people in the head.
“It was like you were in a disaster movie.”
Pilot Suwapich Wongwiriyawanich, Thailand’s first female pilot, previously said she wanted passengers to always wear seat belts.
What happened on Singapore Airlines flight SQ321?
The flight from London to Singapore took off on May 20, with 211 passengers and 18 crew, including 47 Brits.
The plane then experienced “severe turbulence” during breakfast service at around 11 a.m. into the 13-hour flight.
This caused the aircraft to plummet 7,000 feet in about six minutes, with footage showing top panels broken and luggage strewn across the aisles.
Passenger Geoff Kitchen, 73, died after a suspected heart attack during the flight, while hundreds of other passengers were hospitalized.
It is believed to have been caused by storms in the Bay of Bengal.
She said: “Sometimes they think it’s okay to unfasten the seat belt to relax, but keeping the seat belt fastened at all times can prevent injuries that could happen in unforeseen circumstances.”
Here are some other ways airlines are cracking down on passengers, including when it comes to carry-on luggage.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
