Foreign Journalist Slams SIA & Scoot After Her Family Spent a Night at Changi Airport Due to a Cancelled Flight

When you’re travelling, one of the most gratifying moments is when you finally get to sink into your hotel bed after a long, hectic day of flying.

Well, not everyone gets to experience that all the time.

At least Greek journalist Irene Caselli didn’t, which is why she took to Twitter to air her grievances:

In her tweets, she mentioned how she was supposed to fly to Athens via Scoot, but the airport in Athens got shut down due to weather conditions.

She then claimed that Scoot and SIA refused to help her and her family out by saying that all the hotel rooms at Changi Airport were booked, forcing them to sleep on the floor of the airport for three days.

Additionally, she talked about how “ground staff did not care and refused to put us on a different flight or offer compensation to buy alternative”, that another commuter on the same flight had managed to get a hotel room while she had not, and that she had been “lied to”.

She also slammed SIA, tweeting about how they had “plenty of availability on other flights and offered no alternative only for [their] profit”.

Although Caselli technically did not fly with SIA, Scoot is a wholly-owned subsidy of SIA.

In a later update, Caselli tweeted that she had managed to book a hotel room for her family after contacting the Italian embassy.

SIA, Changi Airport and Scoot’s Replies

Shortly after the tweets blew up, SIA commented on Caselli’s tweets, asking for clarification.

It appears that both parties have settled the dispute via email.

Changi Airport replied to Caselli’s tweets as well, clarifying that they had been taken care of in terms of meals and accommodation. They also added on about how “alternative flight options were available”.

Afterwards, in response to Mothership‘s enquiries, Scoot explained that those affected were “booked for the next available Scoot flights based on their final destinations”.

Just an FYI, if your flight is cancelled due to weather conditions, most airlines are apparently not obligated to rebook you, free of charge.

Netizens’ Comments 

Though there were some (mostly foreign) users who jumped to her defence and sympathised with her, a large majority of Singaporeans and other netizens criticised her attitude and entitlement, noting that it was not SIA or Scoot’s responsibility to provide her with lodging or even a rebooked flight due to how it was Athens Airport that had closed.

Some pointed out that Scoot is a budget airline, so she shouldn’t have been looking for first-class services.

Others provided actual, legit help that might come in handy to anyone someday. (So take notes!)

Additionally, there was a handful who questioned her decision-making.

And hey, some other netizens pointed out cold hard facts too. I’m sure everyone in Singapore will agree that there really are much more uncomfortable places to sleep in as compared to Changi Airport.

And for those who aren’t keen on scrolling through the entire Twitter thread, this person summed the comments up pretty well:

Interestingly, the only tweets that Caselli chose to retweet were all in support of her, whether it be through one-word remarks such as “Terrible” or short sentences demanding for the airlines to take responsibility even though they, well, already have.

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If anything, what’s clear by now is that most Singaporeans will band together in times of need to knock some sense into those who need it, especially if it’s over social media.

In times like these, we’re probably more united than when we sing Home during NDP.

Jokes aside, don’t forget to book travel insurance the next time you travel.

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Featured Image: Twitter (@irenecaselli)