Recently, several videos depicting an incident involving a Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight and its business class passengers on 4 April went viral on social media.
In one of the videos, a man can be seen asking for an explanation from someone who appears to be an SIA staff member.
The flight they were on had to be cancelled due to a technical fault.
However, numerous business class passengers were unable to board the subsequent priority flight, attributed by SIA to an “operational error”.
SIA has since apologised for the incident.
On 4 April, flight SQ709, an Airbus A350-900, experienced technical difficulties shortly after take-off at 3.21pm.
As a result, passengers had to disembark, with some transferring to flight SQ711.
They were reportedly informed that they would be given priority on the next flight to Singapore.
Mr Wang (transliterated from Chinese), told 8world News that he was originally scheduled to depart Bangkok on SQ709 bound for Singapore.
He recounted that after he and other business class passengers surrendered their boarding passes to the flight manager, they were instructed to wait patiently for the issuance of new ones.
However, after an hour of waiting, they were puzzled to see economy class passengers boarding the next flight.
When asked about the progress of the boarding passes, the flight manager indicated that the flight was full and could not accommodate any more passengers.
“In other words, we waited patiently for an hour while he and other staff members were busy helping economy class passengers board the plane,” Mr Wang said.
As a result, the business class passengers were unable to board the flight.
A video posted by TikTok user @ben358761 shows a business class passenger talking to an SIA staff member.
He could be heard expressing his disappointment as a Solitaire PPS Club member of 30 years.
The man claimed to have been informed that only business class passengers would be permitted to board SQ711.
However, he observed staff members processing boarding passes for economy class passengers instead and asked why the airline was “lying”.
Other passengers in another video expressed urgency to reach Melbourne promptly for work or personal reasons.
Mr Wang mentioned that staff members informed him that the next two flights were fully booked. Eventually, he and his wife departed from Bangkok to Singapore at 10.15pm.
Since they missed their connecting flight to Melbourne, SIA arranged hotel accommodations for them in Singapore.
However, upon arriving in Singapore at 1.30am, they could only rest at the hotel for about two hours before hastily checking out to catch their flight back to Melbourne.
Expressing his disappointment, Mr Wang emphasised that SIA has always been his preferred airline and added that he had lodged a complaint.
SIA has since released a media statement apologising for the incident, 8world News reported.
Originally scheduled to depart from Bangkok to Singapore at 3.21pm local time, flight SQ709 encountered a technical issue shortly after leaving the gate.
This prompted a return to the gate, and all passengers disembarked while engineers addressed the problem.
“Due to the need for a spare part and additional maintenance time, all affected passengers were rescheduled to another SIA flight scheduled to fly from Bangkok to Singapore on the same day,” the spokesperson said.
SIA also offered snacks and drinks to passengers at the new boarding gate.
However, due to an operational oversight, flight SQ711, initially set to depart at 6.30pm local time, was already at full capacity.
Consequently, 38 of the previously affected passengers were unable to board this flight.
“SIA staff worked hard to notify affected passengers as soon as possible after the error was discovered,” the airline said. “We sincerely apologise to all affected customers for the miscommunication and disruption caused by this error.”
Arrangements were subsequently made for affected passengers to take alternative flights departing on the same day and the next day (5 April).
SIA added that it would review internal processes to enhance customer handling procedures and prevent similar occurrences in the future.
The airline thanked all affected customers for their patience and understanding.
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Featured image adapted from @ben358761 on TikTok, TikTok, and TikTok.
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