A traumatic birthday for mum at airport
MY PARENTS were scheduled to fly to Macau from the Changi Airport Budget Terminal on Tiger Airways TR906 on Feb22.
At the Customs check, they were stopped for an inspection of their carry-on luggage and they cooperated fully. After the search, the zip became damaged when the Certis Cisco officer was zipping up the baggage. Instead of admitting his mistake, his supervisor made the bizarre decision to report the matter to the police.
With their departure time looming, my parents were willing to let the matter rest. However, the supervisor said that, under Singapore law, they were to be detained until the police arrived.
The supervisor dismissed their protests that they would miss their flight, saying the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) had been informed.
When my parents were finally allowed to leave, minutes before departure, they found that the boarding gate was already closed. They were told by the airline they would need to top up $300 each to board the next flight. The CAAS officer at the boarding gate said he had not been notified by Customs. During all these six hours of waiting until the next flight, no police officer showed up.
I hope Cisco, CAAS and the police will review this incident and address the following issues:
What is the procedure when passengers' luggage is damaged? What if there is a dispute?
Can one be detained over a dispute over damaged luggage? Worse still, no reason was given to my parents.
My parents were told they could not leave because the police had been called. Subsequently, in the next six hours, no police officer turned up.
Who will now compensate for the damaged luggage, the six hours wasted and the extra costs because of this incident?
Feb 22 was my mother's birthday, and she had to go through this trauma with my father. Till now, she is still very upset and shaken by the incident.
Is this incident a reflection of the service standards we should expect at the Budget Terminal?
Loy Zhi-Yang
