SINGAPORE: Fifty departure flights were delayed and nine arriving flights diverted after Changi Control Tower was evacuated early on Thursday (Jan 23) morning.

The control tower was evacuated after a fire suppression system was activated, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) in response to queries from CNA.



Flight operations at Changi Airport, which were disrupted just after midnight, were restored at 1.40am after the control tower resumed operations, said Mr Rosly Saad, director of air traffic services at CAAS.

"There was no fire," said Mr Rosly.

"In the interim, air traffic control services were provided from back-up positions," he added.

Investigations into the cause of the activation are ongoing.



During the disruption, 50 departure flights were delayed by 30 minutes or more and nine arriving flights were diverted.

Some passengers affected by the disruption said they were delayed for about two hours.

Anyone know what’s going on at @ChangiAirport ? Been sitting on the tarmac on @SingaporeAir flight 225 for 2 hours.. — Tommy Nilsen (@TommyNilsen) January 22, 2020

All flights are restricted from landing and take-offs, with arrivals held in holding patterns and delayed for 30-40mins, while departure flights are delayed for 2-3hours due to priority given for arrivals in case they ran out of fuel. No information given to airport staff too. — kex (@xplorechangi) January 22, 2020

Hi @ChangiAirport, will you be updating on the current shutdown of Changi air traffic control? Our @SingaporeAir flight #SQ208 is current sitting on the tarmac #Batam airport after being diverted. — Ezra Hansen (@ezratphansen) January 22, 2020

Another passenger said that his plane was diverted to Kuala Lumpur airport.