Singapore: Parked airplanes turned into restaurant, more than 400 people come to dine

Singapore, Oct 26: More than 400 people arrived at Singapore's Changi Airport and went through the usual security checks before having meals onboard two parked planes of Singapore Airlines on Saturday.

They ate meals and watched films aboard the two parked jets that were turned into pop-up restaurants amid COVID-19 pandemic. Customers were allowed to book seats in all four cabin classes.

With the aviation industry in deep crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic, airlines have turned to alternative ways to raise cash, from offering "flights to nowhere" to tours of aircraft.

Singapore's flag carrier, which has cut thousands of jobs and grounded nearly all its planes this year, offered passengers the chance to dine on board two A380 superjumbos - the world's biggest passenger jet.

"The food is pretty amazing, it's better than the one they serve during the flight," Zhou Tai Di, a 17-year-old student in economy class, told AFP as he tucked into his soy sauce-glazed chicken with spicy fried eggplant and rice.

Some settled in for a nap while waiting for their meals to be served, while others watched movies on the seat-back entertainment systems.

About half the seats were left empty, in keeping with social-distancing guidelines.

"Of course the feeling of actually flying will be better, because there's the excitement of going to a new destination, to explore a new destination, and even though we can't do it now due to COVID-19, this is a good substitute for now, to recreate the feels of taking a long-haul flight," one diner told stated.

The airline is also offering home deliveries of plane meals, but it has ditched plans for "flights to nowhere" - short journeys starting and ending at the same airport - following an outcry over the potential environmental impact.

A limited number of diners were also able to tour the double-decker aircraft and take selfies with pilots in the cockpit.