SINGAPORE: A family took to social media to express their outrage after they got stuck at the aerobridge at Changi Airport Terminal 4 for half an hour after they got off their Cathay Pacific flight.
On Monday (Dec 30), Michele Yap posted a video of the incident on her social media pages, which was later widely shared, including on the Singapore Incidents FB and Instagram accounts.
“My mother in wheelchair locked inside Changi T4 gate for 30 mins after we disembarked from CX657 tonight!!!,” wrote Ms Yap in an inscription on her video.
The video shows several women behind closed glass doors, accompanied by an airport staff who was trying to reach the Airport Police on her mobile. Unfortunately, she received a message that said the police were at the moment receiving a high volume of calls.
At the end of the 33-second video, a woman attempts to open the doors but is unable to as they are locked.
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In the caption, Ms Yap wrote “SHAME ON YOU,” tagging both Cathay Pacific and Changi Airport, holding them responsible for not having checked that not all of the passengers had disembarked before the gates were locked. Ms Yap said that her mum, 81, had been traumatized by the incident and that they could not reach the airport police. She added in comments to her post that her mother, who was already tired from their flight, grew anxious and panicky.
When they called for medical services, they were told that it was not an emergency. She also added that it took “the frantic SAS staff” half an hour to reach her superior so they could be let out of the area.
“UNBELIEVABLE oversight and lack of proper protocol!” she wrote, advising travellers to “beware” that this could happen.
In the comments to her video, Ms Yap also posted a photo of emergency numbers posted by G18 Door 5, which she had presumably attempted to reach. She wrote that there was no point in posting a list of emergency numbers when none could be reached.
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She also sounded surprised that while the airport staffer had returned to attend to them, she was unable to open the door and had to call for help.
A commenter on her post urged Ms Yap to report the incident to the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) or Changi Airport Service so the incident doesn’t happen again. Another said that the Cisco Auxiliary Police, who are in charge of looking after passengers in wheelchairs, should also be informed of the incident.
The Independent Singapore has reached out to Ms Yap for further comments or updates. /TISG
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