After returning from a trip overseas at the end of last year, an elderly woman in a wheelchair, her daughter and helper were trapped in an aerobridge at Changi Airport for about 16 minutes.
The incident occurred because Cathay Pacific crew failed to see them at the aerobridge, said Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat.
Source: @michele9966 on Instagram
In an Instagram video posted in December 2024, user Michele Yap said the group had just disembarked at Terminal 4 from Cathay Pacific flight CX657 from Hong Kong.
However, they found themselves locked inside the aerobridge, with an apparently empty gate on the other side of the doors.
Source: @michele9966 on Instagram
A staff member who was with them couldn’t open the doors and tried calling the airport police, but was heard expressing frustration at receiving an automated message that they were experiencing “high call volume”.
According to Ms Yap, the medical emergency line had said it wasn’t an emergency.
The staff member took half an hour to get somebody to free them, Ms Yap claimed.
She slammed the airline and airport for locking the doors before checking whether all passengers had disembarked, describing it as an “unbelievable oversight”.
The incident left her 81-year-old mother, who was in a wheelchair, “so traumatised”, she added.
In a comment on her post, Cathay Pacific apologised for the incident.
The airline said it knows “how frustrating this must have been”, especially for her mother.
Source: @michele9966 on Instagram
The matter is under investigation, it added, promising to follow it up with her shortly.
The incident on 29 Dec was subsequently brought up in Parliament on Wednesday (5 Feb), when Aljunied MP Gerald Giam asked the Transport Minister about it.
In a written reply, Mr Chee said the airline crew did not see the three affected passengers when they were waiting at the aerobridge after disembarkation.
Thus, they mistakenly told ground handling agents (GHAs) that the aerobridge was clear.
GHA staff, in turn, did not conduct a thorough check of the aerobridge before locking the door.
Source: @michele9966 on Instagram
It’s the airlines’ responsibility to ensure all passengers safely disembark and exit the aerobridge before locking the door, the minister said.
This is in line with international industry practices, he added.
It is also part of standard operating procedures for GHA staff to check the aerobridge before locking the door.
The group was accompanied by a staff member from the GHA’s service provider, as one of them required wheelchair assistance.
While she called various parties for assistance, she didn’t call the Changi Airport Group (CAG) emergency hotline.
That is the right number to call in such situations, Mr Chee said.
This explains the delay in unlocking the door, forcing the trapped passengers to wait at the aerobridge for about 16 minutes before the door was unlocked.
This was the first-ever incident of arriving passengers being trapped by locked doors on an aerobridge at Changi Airport, the minister revealed.
The passengers have received compensation over the incident, as well as an apology from Cathay Pacific, Mr Chee said, adding:
The airline has also worked with its GHA to remind the airline’s crew and ground staff to improve their coordination.
To avoid a repeat of such an incident, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and CAG have “shared the learning points” with other airlines and GHA staff.
Also read: Woman breaks leg going down Changi Airport slide, warns others to play at their own risk
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Featured image adapted from @michele9966 on Instagram.
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