Singapore Airlines flight to Singapore turns back to San Francisco after passenger disruption

A Singapore Airlines long-haul flight from San Francisco to Singapore turned back over the Pacific Ocean on Wednesday after a passenger disrupted the cabin, according to an account of the flight.

Flight SQ31, an Airbus A350-900 registered as 9V-SJC, left San Francisco International Airport on Wednesday, October 14, 2026. The aircraft taxied around the airfield for almost an hour before departing from Runway 28R at about 12:40 p.m. PDT, roughly an hour behind schedule. The service had been scheduled as a non-stop trip of 16 hours and 25 minutes to Singapore Changi Airport.

After departure the wide-body climbed to an initial cruising altitude of 34,000 feet and later to 36,000 feet while tracking west across the Pacific.

Several hours into the flight, over the middle of the ocean, a passenger began causing what was described as a severe disruption in the cabin. With a long stretch of open water ahead and no suitable diversion airports able to handle the aircraft and its passengers, the captain decided to abandon the crossing and turn the jet 180 degrees back toward Northern California.

While retracing the route, the captain contacted ground control to ask that paramedics and local law enforcement meet the aircraft on arrival. The A350 landed safely back at San Francisco on Runway 28L nearly eight hours after takeoff.

Police officers and medical personnel boarded the aircraft at the gate. The remaining passengers and crew left the plane while authorities investigated the incident.