Passengers unhappy after Scoot flight delayed for more than 21 hours

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An honorable member of the Coffee Shop Has Just Posted the Following:

Viewers who got in touch with Channel NewsAsia said the budget airline had made them board and disembark the plane several times while offering up a variety of “excuses”, and offered only travel vouchers as compensation.

• POSTED: 21 Jun 2015 16:52
• UPDATED: 21 Jun 2015 21:37

• PHOTOS

Eight hours after the scheduled departure time of TZ8 on Saturday (Jun 20), passengers are told by a Scoot ground handler that the next possible flight out would only leave the day after. (Photo: Jhai)

SINGAPORE: There was frustration for Scoot passengers again after a flight set to depart from Singapore to Perth on Saturday (Jun 20) evening was delayed by more than 21 hours. This is the airline's second flight delay in three days.

Scoot said in a statement: “(Flight TZ8) was delayed at Changi Airport due to a technical issue and we regret that the delay has inconvenienced our guests.”

Videos of the scene at Changi Airport on Saturday evening show angry passengers demanding compensation while a ground handler admits to not being able to do anything, as “we are guided by Scoot”. These were allegedly taken after the ground handler announced that the flight had been rescheduled to 9.50am on Sunday morning.

Channel NewsAsia understands that before the announcement was made, passengers had had to board and disembark the plane several times.

In a letter addressed to Scoot that was seen by Channel NewsAsia, a passenger called “Cole” said they were asked to board and leave twice, saying the airline offered up six different excuses for the delays.

The passenger also complained that the airline had merely offered travel vouchers in compensation, and eventually asked Singaporeans to go home.

“We have already paid way more than what we budgeted for, just to stay in Changi Airport for over 10 hours for meals, and to make things worse, we had to pay two-way cab fare, which is already about $50, and you are giving us a voucher to subject us to this trouble all over again?” Cole wrote.

Perth resident William Forde, another passenger who shared photos and a video with Channel NewsAsia, said the flight had been rescheduled a total of seven times and throughout the ordeal, many passengers had stuck together: "The duty of care provided and inhumanity of this business model is alarming, but the way people came together to protest as one was inspiring and unheard of in Singapore".

Said Mr Forde: "We were refused temporary accommodation even though many of us had not eaten, and by then the flight had been delayed for close to 21 hours.

"Some of us requested that the elderly and those with children be given a flight first, but we were rejected at every turn by a Scoot rep. As a result of our protest we were only given a S$10 meal voucher and a letter of disruption, which had details of the next flight out. But we were told these were still 'tentative'".

Two viewers also called the Channel NewsAsia hotline on the issue, with one saying that the last time they were asked to board the flight to Perth at 7.45pm, they were “sent off again” and “told the flight would not be taking off and would be cancelled”.

“The management just walked away without providing hotel accommodation to transit passengers and Singaporeans were asked to go home,” said the caller. “They also said the decision was final – take it or leave it. People were unhappy."

The flight finally departed for Perth at around 10.40am on Sunday. Earlier, another flight scheduled to fly from Hong Kong to Singapore on Friday was grounded for more than 24 hours before taking off on Saturday evening.



- CNA/hs

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/...r/1930902.html


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