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WE REFER to Mr Loy Zhi-Yang's letter 'A traumatic birthday for mum at airport' (March 2). We are sorry to learn of the circumstances that led to his parents' trip being delayed and the unhappy incident that marred the trip on his mum's birthday.
We have reviewed the CCTV recordings and interviewed the staff involved. Our investigations show that a Certis Cisco security screening officer assisted Mrs Loy to zip her hand-carried bag after seeing that she was having difficulty closing it. After it was zipped up, Mr and Mrs Loy left the security screening point.
Ten minutes later, they returned and highlighted that their bag was damaged. They then asked to meet the superior of the officer who had assisted them earlier.
The duty supervisor from the Airport Police Security Screening Unit spoke with Mr and Mrs Loy and requested that they provide their particulars for follow-up by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) as they were nearing their departure time.
The duty supervisor also explained that although he had informed both the CAAS and the police, they need not wait for the police as they might miss their flight. Mr and Mrs Loy then proceeded for their boarding after providing their particulars. However, we are sorry that they still did not make it onto their flight.
Certis Cisco will be contacting them as part of its commitment to service excellence.
Nevertheless, we are pleased that our CAAS duty terminal manager Ong Shu Ting helped to rebook Mr and Mrs Loy on the next flight upon learning about the incident. She also offered to pay their rebooking charges of $282 out of goodwill. They departed smoothly on the next available flight to Macau.
At Changi Airport, we are keenly aware of the importance of customer service. Front-line staff are trained and reminded to provide the same level of customer service to all passengers travelling from all terminals.
We would advise all passengers to ensure they have adequate time at the checkpoints at the airport as we strive to achieve a balance between security, efficiency and service. This incident reminds us that we still have room for improvement and we hope to serve Mr and Mrs Loy better the next time they use Changi Airport.
Sahiman Meean
Assistant General Manager, Operations
Certis Cisco Aviation Security
Yeo Kia Thye
Director (Airport Operations)
Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore
DSP Paul Tay
Assistant Director (Media Relations)
Singapore Police Force
This forum letter was first published in The Straits Times.
For more The Straits Times stories, click here.
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