A Singapore Airlines plane bound for San Francisco aborted takeoff at Seoul airport last Thursday following instructions from air traffic control to avoid a Korean Air plane. “The aborted takeoff resulted in the deflation of a number of tyres on the Boeing 777-300ER, requiring passengers to disembark from the aircraft on the taxiway,” said an SIA spokesperson in response to queries from Channel NewsAsia. There were 186 passengers and 18 crew onboard the flight, and none of them were injured. The flight was cleared for takeoff at 6.07pm local time. It was accelerating for takeoff when Korean Air flight KE-929, bound for St Petersburg, suddenly crossed the runway. This prompted the instruction to abort takeoff. Affected passengers were provided with hotel accommodation, said the SIA spokesperson. Following replacement of the tyres, the aircraft departed for San Francisco at 1.05pm local time on Friday. The Korean Ministry of Transportation has launched an investigation to determine the cause of the incident.<br/>
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Singapore Airlines spends more than S$100m on training a year, including flight operations training programmes. According to the airline, its comprehensive training programmes have helped develop its employees. For instance, cabin crew undergo a 15-week training course that follows the Singapore Workforce Development Agency (WDA)'s service excellence framework. SIA employs approximately 12,000 people in Singapore, including ground staff, pilots and cabin crew. It added that 90% of them are locals, of which 15% are Permanent Residents. The airline also revealed that it has a low staff attrition rate. On average, cabin crew stay with the company for over 10 years, while ground staff typically serve for 19.5 years. <br/>
The number of US airline hubs has dwindled during the past 15 years. Pittsburgh, St. Louis and Cleveland are among those that have fallen from the ranks thanks to mergers and broader structural changes that have reshaped the airline industry. It's against that backdrop that United Airlines showed off the longevity of its Washington Dulles hub Monday, celebrating the 30-year anniversary its hub operation there. United first designated the airport – located about 30 miles from downtown Washington in suburban northern Virginia – as a hub in May 1986. At the time, United offered an average of 58 daily departures to 24 destinations. Today, United operates more than 200 daily departures to 83 destinations. “United is the pivotal player here at Dulles Airport, so we’re very happy they’re celebrating their 30th anniversary, and we wish them 30-plus more,” said John Potter, CEO of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority that runs Dulles and Reagan National airports. United plans to grow its international flight schedule at Dulles later this month, when nonstop seasonal routes will launch to Barcelona and Lisbon. United also is seeking government approval to begin another “capital to capital route” from Dulles to Havana, Cuba.<br/>