On Sunday (Sep 10), Singapore's Changi Airport had to shut down a runway for approximately three hours, and a plane was diverted due to a fire on an Air China flight from Chengdu, China. The flight, CA403, experienced smoke in the forward cargo hold and lavatory around 4 p.m., as reported by the airport on its Facebook page. The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) stated that the flight declared an emergency and requested a priority landing.
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The plane was granted permission to land and touched down on Runway 3 at about 4.15 p.m. All 146 passengers and nine crew members were evacuated via the aircraft's emergency slides on runway 20L and were transported by bus to the terminal.
Around 4.25pm, the Airport Emergency Services extinguished a fire in the left Pratt & Whitney PW1127G engine of the aircraft (reg. B-305J). Nine passengers suffered minor injuries related to smoke inhalation and abrasions during the evacuation process and received medical attention. The aircraft was removed at approximately 6 p.m., and after inspections were conducted, the runway – one of three at Changi Airport – was reopened just after 7 p.m.
Changi Airport had previously warned that flight operations might be disrupted and advised passengers to check its website or app for updates on their flights. Both Air China and Changi Airport Group are providing assistance to the passengers and crew of CA403. The incident is currently under investigation by Singapore's Transport Safety Investigation Bureau, which has reached out to its Chinese counterpart for assistance.