Unattended child attempts to open emergency exit on Citilink flight.

A Citilink plane heading from Jakarta (CGK/WIII) to Batam (BTH/WIDD) had to make an emergency landing yesterday after an unattended child attempted to open an emergency exit mid-flight. The plane made the unscheduled stop in Palembang’s Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport (PLM/WIPP) at 4:05pm after the flight’s captain decided to take the precautionary measure following the incident.

According to Citilink, the child was not under the supervision of their parents when they detached the safety cover to the latch of an emergency exit door.

Thankfully, the door did not open mid-flight.

“The cabin crew immediately sought an explanation from the child’s parents. The parents were also required to make a statement to the authorities at Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II,” Citilink Corporate Secretary and CSR VP Diah Suryani said in a statement published yesterday. No sanctions have been announced for the parents thus far.

Under current COVID-19 protocols, children under the age of 12 are not permitted to travel by air. Diah said the child in this incident had received official dispensation to travel by the COVID-19 Task Force at Soekarno-Hatta Airport.

The plane later took off from Palembang at 7.08pm and touched down in Batam at 7:52pm, 52 minutes later than it was scheduled to land.

Below statement is from Citilink

Flight QG944, Jakarta-Batam route made an emergency landing at Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II International Airport, Palembang on September 27, 2021 at 16:05 WIB. 

The pilot decided to make an emergency landing because a child passenger was allegedly about to open the emergency door while the plane was in the air. VP Corporate Secretary & CSR of PT Citilink Indonesia, Diah Suryani explained, the incident was triggered by children who were in seat row 11 on flight QG944 removing the emergency door lever protective cover or emergency exit cover handle. At the time of the incident, the children's passengers were out of the supervision of their parents.

Knowing the incident, Citilink cabin crew in charge of taking action in accordance with procedure immediately informed the incident to the Captain. Furthermore, the Captain decided to divert the flight to the nearest airport to technically check the condition of the aircraft and ensure the aircraft was in safe condition, in order to ensure the safety and security of the flight.

"In addition, the cabin crew immediately requested information to the child's parents. The child's parents were also questioned by the authorities when landing at Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport, Palembang," Diah said in a written statement.

Aircraft Information:

Airline: Citilink

Code: QG/CTV

Aircraft: Airbus A320-214

Registration: PK-GLY

Serial Number: 05830

First Flew: October 2013