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Singapore Flyer temporarily suspends operations after detecting technical issue with spoke cable

SINGAPORE — Those hoping to catch a view of the Singapore skyline atop the Singapore Flyer this holiday season will not be able to do so for now, after the attraction temporarily suspended its flight operations.

SINGAPORE — Those hoping to catch a view of the Singapore skyline atop the Singapore Flyer this holiday season will not be able to do so for now, after the attraction temporarily suspended its flight operations.

In a media statement on Tuesday (Nov 26), a spokesperson for the Singapore Flyer said that the suspension came after a technical issue involving one of the spoke cables was detected on Nov 19.

“We are carrying out the necessary inspection, repairs and rectification works and will work closely with the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) for their review before the ride is open to the public.” 

A BCA spokesperson said that the authority was alerted to the issue involving one of the spoke cables supporting the flyer wheel, and it suspended the operations on the same day when the issue was first detected.

It also instructed the ride operator to appoint a specialised professional engineer to investigate and propose appropriate rectification works.

The BCA spokesperson added: "The ride will remain closed until the investigation is complete and the operator has carried out the necessary rectification works recommended by the specialised professional engineer to the satisfaction of BCA." 

In its media statement, the Singapore Flyer said that the shops and restaurants at the attraction will remain open.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to our guests and business partners.” 

This is not the first time that the attraction has had to suspend its operations.

Last year, it was suspended for more than two months following a technical issue, where 61 passengers had to be brought to ground safely.

The attraction began operations in February 2008. In its first 10 months of operations, it faced four glitches, with one incident affecting more than 100 guests.

On Dec 4 in 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 its cabins 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 ride 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 Singapore Flyer again 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, just five years after it was launched to great fanfare.

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

Three months later, the attraction, 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.

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Singapore Flyer safety tourist attraction ride suspended BCA

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