SINGAPORE: Singapore's Changi International Airport forced two flights to divert to Hang Nadim International Airport in Batam, Indonesia on Tuesday after poor weather forced the pilots away from landing in the city-state. One of the flights was a Qantas flight from London and the other a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight from Hong Kong, said Dendy Gustinandar, head of commercial affairs at Hang Nadim airport, in comments published by Bernama news agency. “The Qantas-London-Singapore flight was diverted at 4.59 pm while the SIA plane travelling from Hong Kong to Singapore was diverted at 4.45 pm,” Indonesia's ANTARA news agency quoted Dendy. The two planes returned to Changi after the weather conditions permitted. Passengers of both flights remained on board the aircraft while waiting to leave the Indonesian airport. The airport, whose 4,025-metre runway is the longest in Indonesia, was built to support the development of Batam as a major industrial zone in the Asia-Pacific region.
