Scoot flight from Taipei to Singapore delayed for over 10 hours

SINGAPORE — Scoot passengers travelling from Taipei to Singapore were stuck at the Taoyuan International Airport for more than 10 hours on Sunday (March 24) after they were told that their flight was delayed due to a technical problem.

The Singapore bound flight, TR997, was originally scheduled to depart Taipei, Taiwan, at 2pm local time, but passengers were informed by staff about 30 minutes before takeoff that the flight had been rescheduled to 12.45am on Monday morning.

Responding to queries from TODAY, a Scoot spokesperson said that the preceding Flight TR996 from Singapore to Taipei had been grounded at the Taoyuan International Airport for investigations after oxygen masks were activated during the flight’s descent.

“A female passenger, who was travelling with her infant, reported that her infant vomited during the descent. Medical attention has been rendered to the passenger and her infant, and Scoot will follow up on her infant’s condition,” said the spokesperson.

There were no other reports of injuries or major discomfort.

The plane was scheduled to take passengers on TR997 back to Singapore on Sunday afternoon. A replacement aircraft was deployed to “minimise the disruption” caused to its passengers, said the Scoot spokesperson. 

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A Singaporean passenger, who only wanted to be known as Mr Lim, told TODAY that he had arrived at the airport at noon and was only told of the delay at 1.30pm when he was waiting to board the plane. Scoot staff had informed passengers that the 2pm flight would be delayed due to a “technical problem”, though no further details were provided.

The 59-year-old said that the flight appeared to be full and passengers generally took the news well and that there “were no flare ups”. Scoot also gave out meal vouchers which Mr Lim said were worth NTD750 (S$33) in total.

“Some of the aunties nearby even talked about claiming (travel) insurance if there was a delay,” said the civil servant, who was returning to Singapore after a three-day holiday in Taiwan with his family.

He added that it was “inevitable” that the flight would be delayed and that he had “no issues” as it was a matter of safety.

Singaporean budget airline Scoot has experienced at least 12 major flight disruptions caused by aircraft technical issues since November last year, with the longest lasting more than two days.

The most serious delay occurred on Dec 18 last year after passengers bound for Singapore were stuck at Athens, Greece, for 56 hours.

The 321 passengers of Flight TR713 were reported to have boarded and disembarked the plane three times over the course of the delay.

In the most recent incident, Scoot passengers of Flight TR899 reached Singapore two days later than expected on Jan 2, after technical problems left them stranded in Taipei.

Scoot chief executive officer Lee Lik Hsin said in an interview with The Straits Times last month that the airline had upset customers and acknowledged that it had “several failings”. 

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He also admitted that customer confidence had been impacted due to the frequency and intensity of the delays, which were “unacceptable for any objective measure”.

Mr Lee also noted that passengers felt that Scoot had taken too long to activate contingency plans and relief flights and that there was a lack of communication and timely updates for those affected.

He stressed that the airline was determined to regain customers’ trust and confidence.