A man onboard a flight from Melaka to Singapore recently alleged he and other passengers were made to wait nine hours until they were informed of its cancellation due to a technical issue with the aircraft.
Following the incident, the passenger is currently seeking compensation from the airlines, said to be Singapore’s low-cost carrier, 8world reported.
The flight was reportedly scheduled for departure from Melaka at 10.15pm and arrive in Singapore at 11.10pm last Friday (Jan 10).
The passenger, identified as Lim, said he and his family arrived at the Melaka International Airport at around 8pm, adding that he checked the FlightRadar website regarding the flight which informed of a previous delay due to weather.
Lim said he and his family were going to Singapore to attend an event with his family and colleague.
The aforementioned flight finally arrived at the airport at around 11pm but Lim and his family were unable to board.
ALSO READ: Mysterious woman boards plane without ticket, causes four-hour flight delay at KLIA
“I saw a lot of technicians standing next to the plane, checking the engine. I went to ask the staff what was wrong and why we couldn’t board yet.
“They told me it was because of the weather,” Lim was quoted as saying.
Finally at 2.30am, passengers can finally board the flight and Lim recounted that he fell asleep as soon as he was seated but woke up half and house later to find that the flight did not depart yet.
The captain announced in the plane that the engine was unable to start and had to be returned for inspection at the hangar so all of the passengers were asked to disembark.
ALSO READ: Singapore Airlines offers compensation to passengers on severely turbulent flight
“I was very angry when I heard that, because we waited for a long time and asked them repeatedly if there was a problem with the plane, but they kept saying it was due to weather conditions.
“Why couldn’t they tell us earlier that the plane couldn’t fly?
“We could have made other arrangements instead of waiting from 8pm to 4am,” he was quoted as saying.
Facing the sudden flight cancellation, Lim and his family had no choice but to drive all the way to Johor Bahru at around 5pm then take a bus to Singapore and finally arrived at around 10am, narrowly missing the scheduled event.
On Saturday (Jan 11), the airline informed affected passengers of the flight at 12.40pm instructing them to wait at the counter in the airport at 1.30pm to take a long-distance bus to Singapore.
ALSO READ: Woman’s items worth around RM5k found damaged after three-hour search in KLIA
Lim explained the cancellation caused him to lose money he spent booking accommodation in Singapore and additional costs for petrol and bus fare as well as other expenses, claiming to have incurred S$1,881 (RM6,200) in losses and demanded compensation from the airlines.
After the flight was cancelled, Lim contacted the airline’s customer service to submit his compensation claim but alleged that the representative only offered a voucher, adding that a refund would take processing period of 20 days and 14 additional days for the transfer.
“I think this is their plane’s fault, so I hope they can compensate me for my airfare, as well as all other losses,” Lim was also quoted as saying.
ALSO READ: Passenger refuses to stow RM13k LV bag, flight delayed for one hour
According to the spokesperson from Singapore’s low-cost carrier, the cancellation was attributed to an issue with the aircraft’s fuel tanker, causing the aircraft not being able to refuel, at Melaka International Airport.
“Due to the bad weather in Singapore and surrounding areas last weekend, several flights were delayed or reschedule,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying.
The spokesperson added that the airline provided alternative accommodation and meals for the affected passengers and also provided travel arrangements on Saturday at 2pm.
