“We Felt Played’: Singaporeans Left Stranded at Tokyo Airport During 9-Hour Scoot Flight Delay “

Japan recently eased Covid-19 restrictions, welcoming more foreign tourists eager to enjoy sushi and ramen. However, for a group of 55 Singaporean tourists, their trip ended in frustration when their Scoot flight home from Tokyo was delayed for nine hours, leaving them with little more than biscuits and water.

The group, which included children and elderly passengers, was set to depart on a Singapore-bound Scoot flight on Thursday (Sept 8) at 10 a.m., after an eight-day tour visiting Tokyo, Osaka, and Mount Fuji. According to Shin Min Daily News, they woke up as early as 5 a.m. to prepare for their flight at Narita International Airport.

However, just before boarding, they were informed of an hour-long delay. This delay was later extended multiple times, leaving the passengers wandering through the airport with their luggage as the boarding gate was changed several times.

An elderly passenger, surnamed Lam, expressed his frustration: “When our boarding gate was changed four times, we felt played. We’re all elderly folks, but we were still made to carry our luggage around. It was tiring and frustrating.”

Adding to their discomfort, the group had little to eat. “There was no food provided to us,” said 74-year-old Chen. The passengers only received meal vouchers around 2 p.m., but many airport restaurants were closed or did not accept the vouchers. As a result, a tour leader had to purchase water and biscuits for some of the travelers.

After hours of waiting, the group finally boarded a flight home at 7 p.m., but the ordeal was not over. Chen recalled that due to a lack of seats on the plane, passengers had to pack their hand luggage into boxes.

Tour guide Qiaoer mentioned that the group eventually arrived in Singapore at 2 a.m. the following day.

Scoot’s Response
In response to AsiaOne’s queries on Friday (Sept 9), Scoot explained that a technical fault had been detected with flight TR809, leading to the delay. Affected passengers were rebooked on Scoot flight TR899, which departed at 2:42 p.m., and Singapore Airlines flight SQ11, which departed at 7:05 p.m.

Scoot added that refreshments and meal vouchers were provided to passengers during the delay and apologized for the inconvenience. “The safety of our customers and crew is our top priority,” a spokesperson said.

According to Scoot’s policy, passengers whose flights are delayed or canceled less than 24 hours before departure can rebook at no extra cost or receive a 120% refund in Scoot travel vouchers.

This incident follows a similar event in July when a Singapore-bound Scoot flight from Perth had to return due to a technical fault, causing further frustration among passengers seeking assistance and compensation.