S'pore Flyer resumes operations after 2 month-closure caused by faulty mechanism

SINGAPORE — After coming to a standstill for slightly over two months due to a technical glitch, the Singapore Flyer resumed operations on Sunday (April 1).

The cause of the problem was a faulty part belonging to the mechanism at the foot of the wheel which allows it to rotate, the company said in response to TODAY's queries. The part has been replaced.

On Sunday morning, dozens of guests could be seen boarding the Flyer as the tourist attraction appeared to be back in business. 

"The necessary safety checks and tests have been carried out to the satisfaction of the Building and Construction Authority," said Singapore Flyer's director of marketing and sales Veronique Ye in a media release on Saturday.

"We have also obtained the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities to resume flight operations," Ms Ye added.

Explaining the two-month closure, Ms Ye said: "We took time to run a thorough check (including unaffected areas) as well as rigorous tests before resuming our flight operations, with the support of the relevant authorities — the Building and Construction Authority and the Singapore Civil Defence Force."

She also apologised for the inconvenience caused and assured that "rigorous tests have been conducted to ensure that the Singapore Flyer is safe".

Operations at the 165m-tall observation wheel were suspended indefinitely on Jan 25, after the technical glitch led to 61 passengers being alighted the same day.

Ms Ye said then that its engineers were seeking "more clarity" on the cause of the issue, together with the relevant authorities and the specialist professional engineers.

The tourist attraction, which began operations in February 2008, is no stranger to headlines.

In its first 10 months of operations, it faced several glitches.

On Dec 4, 2008, about 70 people were stranded on the wheel when it was stuck for nearly five hours due to bad weather.

Almost three weeks later, 173 guests were trapped in the Flyer for more than six hours because of an electrical malfunction, before power was restored and the wheel began moving again at about 11pm.

In July 2010, the Flyer was shut after one of its electrical cables supplying power to the air-conditioning systems was struck by lightning, affecting the air-conditioning system. Some 200 passengers had to be evacuated. It was reopened two days later after repair works were completed.

The Flyer also faced financial difficulties beginning in 2010. It was placed under receivership at the end of May 2013 for failing to meet financial obligations to banks.

In 2014, Merlin Entertainments, the operator of the famous London Eye, abandoned its talks to acquire the Flyer.

Three months later, the Flyer, which cost S$240 million to build, was bought at a knock-down price of S$140 million by publicly listed tourism operator Straco Corp.