Scoot flight from KL to Singapore cancelled after technical malfunction, passengers allegedly waited 4 hours onboard

What was meant to be a short one-hour flight from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore stretched into hours of waiting for travellers on board a Scoot flight on Monday (Feb 9) night.

One affected passenger said in a Xiaohongshu post on Tuesday that the plane had taxied to the runway at Kuala Lumpur International Airport after she boarded the plane at about 9pm on Monday and remained on the tarmac for an hour.

"Then, the captain announced that the aircraft was experiencing a brake issue and was being repaired, and asked for our patience," she wrote.

According to her, they waited on board till 1am on Tuesday, when another announcement was made that the plane could not be repaired.

Passengers disembarked and boarded a shuttle bus back to the airport terminal.

"It was nearing 2am when we returned to the terminal," she said, claiming that ground staff did not give clear instructions on the passengers' next steps and were unable to answer many of their queries.

Eventually, arrangements were made for passengers to rest overnight at an accommodation, and board the 10am flight to Singapore.

The Xiaohongshu user explained that she urgently needed to return to Singapore and did not take up the offered arrangement.

"I spent about $100 on another plane ticket, but this shouldn't have been shouldered by me," she lamented.

Engineers needed more time for maintenance: Scoot

Scoot confirmed to Lianhe Zaobao that flight TR497 had experienced a technical fault before takeoff, which was scheduled for 10pm.

The low-cost carrier said that a decision to cancel the flight was made as engineers required more time to carry out maintenance.

Accommodation, meals, and ground transportation services were arranged for affected passengers. It has rescheduled affected passengers on other flights and will offer full refunds to passengers who chose to cancel their trips.

"Scoot sincerely apologises for the disruption and inconvenience caused. The safety of our customers and crew is our top priority, and we will continue to assist affected customers, where required."

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lim.kewei@asiaone.com