Scoot passengers stuck in Tokyo, Bangkok for 30 hours
Passengers on a Scoot flight bound for Singapore were kept waiting for almost 30 hours in Tokyo and Bangkok on Monday due to a technical issue.
A spokesman for the budget carrier told The Straits Times on Monday night that flight TR869 was due to depart Tokyo for Singapore with a stopover at Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport at 9.35am local time.
But a technical issue forced the plane to return to Narita International Airport.
"Engineers immediately began rectification works, but in view of the expected time required, a decision was made to ground the aircraft instead," the spokesman said.
Passengers were informed that the flight from Tokyo would be re-timed to depart at 3.50pm local time yesterday instead, while those in Bangkok were scheduled to depart at 10.10pm local time.
Facebook user Jie Vonn Memories said in a post on Scoot's Facebook page on Monday that she was stuck in Bangkok and facing a "horrible delay" of 30 hours.
The Scoot spokesman said it has tried to transfer some passengers to another flight, TR899, which was heading from Japan to Singapore via Taipei.
To ensure that affected customers in Bangkok would be able to return to Singapore as soon as possible, Scoot said it would have an additional flight scheduled to depart Bangkok at 4.10pm local time.
Some customers would also be transferred to TR611, which would depart at 6.15pm local time.
Those unable to get onto flights from Tokyo or Bangkok were provided with accommodation and meals, where necessary, the spokesman added.
"Safety is our top priority, and we sincerely apologise for the disruption caused to our customers' travel plans." - NG HUIWEN
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