SIA investigating allegations made by passenger on delayed Singapore-India flight

Singapore Airlines (SIA) said it is looking into a passenger's allegation that she and her fellow passengers were "trapped" on board flight SQ516 at Changi Airport for about three hours on June 8 without any air-conditioning.

Chandni Doulatramani wrote in a Facebook post that she and her family were flying home to Kolkata from Brisbane via Singapore.

She wrote that the flight was scheduled for takeoff at 9.10pm but ended up leaving at about 12.30am because of technical difficulties.

She described the experience as "traumatic" in a lengthy post.

We have summarised what she said happened below:

• When the passengers were on the shuttle that was transporting them to the plane, the driver moved "half an inch" and got off the bus, and repeated this four times.
• She said that they were trapped on the bus for 30 minutes with "no explanation" and that elderly passengers including her 73-year-old father were "extremely uncomfortable and physically exhausted".
• Upon boarding, they were told that the air-conditioning on the aircraft wasn't working and would be fixed within 15 minutes
• The captain provided constant updates but after half an hour she described the aircraft still having "zero ventilation".
• She said that a pregnant woman started getting hot flashes and two other women were "profusely throwing up in the back of the plane".
• According to her post, cabin crew "had no answers" to what was happening and "rudely" shut them up.
• She added that the cabin crew "refused" to serve them cold water and drinks till much later when the passengers gathered around the pantry to ask for sodas.
• She said cabin crew also allegedly did nothing to help passengers understand the problem or reassure them that it was fixed and safe to fly.
• She said police came to the aircraft three times but could not do anything about the problem
• A video of two men talking to an officer was included in her post.

The flight finally took off and they arrived in Kolkata at 2am, three-and-a-half hours after they were supposed to arrive at 10.30pm.

[embed]https://www.facebook.com/chandni.doulatramani/videos/10160431698370023/[/embed]

You may read her full account here.

In response to Stomp's media queries, SIA provided the following statement regarding the incident:

"Singapore Airlines flight SQ516 operating from Singapore to Kolkata on 8 June 2018, experienced technical issues on the ground resulting in a 2 hour 52 minutes delay.

"We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused to our customers on board.

"With regards to the online post, we take these claims seriously and will be looking into them thoroughly."