Citilink who Landed Emergency because Child Opened Emergency Door Cover
The airline Citilink confirmed that the flight code QG 944 for the route from Jakarta to Batam, which made an emergency landing at Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport in Palembang, South Sumatra, Monday evening, was safe.
“Currently the plane has landed safely in Batam. Before continuing the journey to Batam, Citilink, the engineering team, and the competent authorities have checked, then they declared it safe to continue the journey,” said VP Corporate Secretary & CSR of PT Citilink Indonesia Diah Suryani in official statement, Tuesday, September 28, 2021.
According to him, flight QG 944 from Cengkareng to Batam was diverted to SMB II Airport, Palembang, at 16.05 WIB.
The landing at SMB II Airport was caused by the child passengers in the seat row number 11 removing the protective cover of the emergency door lever outside the supervision of their parents, according to information circulating in public spaces.
According to him, the cabin crew on duty had taken action in accordance with the procedure, then immediately informed the pilot captain of the incident.
“The captain immediately decided to divert flights to the nearest airport to technically check the condition of the aircraft while ensuring the aircraft is in a safe condition to ensure flight safety and security,” he said.
The cabin crew immediately asked for information from the child’s parents. Likewise, the competent authority also asked the child’s parents for information when they landed at SMB II Airport.
He emphasized that Citilink’s flight operations continue to run normally and all passengers on the flight are in good condition.
“Citilink transports the children with the permission and recommendation of the local COVID-19 Task Force team (Soekarno Hatta International Airport, Tangerang),” he said.
In this case, Citilink is tasked with re-checking the completeness of the prospective passenger’s documents before boarding the plane.
“Citilink always prioritizes aspects of flight safety and security. Therefore, we always try to anticipate things that have the potential to disrupt flight safety and security,” he said.
