SIA flight from Milan grounded for more than 24 hours due to 'technical issue'

A Singapore Airlines flight from Milan to Singapore was grounded for more than 24 hours due to a "technical issue". 

SQ377 was scheduled to depart from Milan's Malpensa Airport at 1pm on Friday (Oct 28) when it "encountered a technical issue while the aircraft was still on the ground", a spokesperson for the airline said. 

"As the engineers on ground required more time to fix the issue, a decision was made to delay the flight and passengers disembarked normally," SIA said.

Some passengers contacted Singapore Airlines via its Facebook page to express their frustrations.

In a post on the airline's page, Ms Belinda Chooi said passengers waited for hours on board the plane in "sweltering heat". "No instructions, people passing out and an angry crowd. Police had to be called, a very unsafe situation. What is Singapore Airlines going to do about this? We are stranded with no information," she wrote. 

Another Facebook user known as LV LV also recounted waiting on board the plane for hours, adding that there were no instructions from ground staff once passengers disembarked. 

A spokesperson for SIA said hotel accommodation and meals were arranged for affected passengers. 

The flight was rescheduled to depart from Milan at 2pm on Saturday (8pm Singapore time), and is expected to arrive in Singapore at 7.40am on Sunday, about 24 hours and 40 minutes behind schedule, SIA said.