S’pore-bound Scoot flight from Greece delayed two days, passengers stranded

SINGAPORE – Passengers on a Scoot flight bound for Singapore have been stranded in Greece for more than two days after a technical fault saw them boarding and disembarking the aircraft multiple times. 

Flight TR713, with 321 passengers, was originally scheduled to depart Athens at 11.20am local time on Dec 18, but has so far been delayed three times. It is due to depart Athens on Thursday (Dec 20) at 1.05pm local time (7.05pm Singapore time).

A Channel NewsAsia reader said that multiple Singaporean families were affected by the delay.

The reader said: "We have many Singaporean families here stranded at Athens International Airport. We were supposed to take (the) Scoot flight TR713 that was scheduled to depart on Dec 18 at 1120hrs back to Singapore. But as of now, Dec 19, all of us are still stranded in the airport. It has been more than 24 hours."

"Yesterday we went on the plane, waited for four hours, came back down and wait for another couple of hours and (staff) said to board (the plane) again," the reader added.

"The crew have cited many reasons for not being able to fly. Last was no permission from Athens airport authority," the reader added.

A flight delay notice handed to the reader said that the flight was delayed due to a "technical fault".

Several passengers took to Twitter, complaining about a "shocking" lack of communication. The Scoot delay also caused some passengers to miss other flights.

According to Scoot, here’s what happened:

• First disembarkation: Operational considerations arising from equipment limitations took longer than expected to resolve, as such, passengers were asked to disembark the Boeing 787
• Second disembarkation: Passengers boarded the plane when the issue was resolved, but had to leave a second time because the crew’s flight time limits were exceeded and the plane had to be grounded
• Third disembarkation: The following day (Wednesday), as the flight was about to pushback from the departure gate, flight approval was rescinded
• The airline then decided to send a ferry flight from Singapore to Athens to fetch the affected TR713 passengers back to Singapore, which is now scheduled for 1.05pm local time on Thursday

In a statement, Scoot said accommodation and meals have been arranged for passengers in Athens.

"Scoot sincerely apologises for this extended flight disruption and the inconvenience it had caused to our customers’ travel plans," the airline said.

"Affected customers can opt for a refund via vouchers or to their mode of payment, if they prefer not to continue their travel with Scoot. Customers who choose to continue their journey with Scoot will be compensated based on our Guest Promise," it added. 

This is Scoot’s third reported flight delay in less than a month.

On Nov 25, flight TR616 bound for Bangkok from Singapore was delayed for almost seven hours due to a technical issue with the “aircraft nose gear door”.

A day after, passengers on another flight that was supposed to depart Bangkok’s Don Mueang International Airport for Singapore was delayed for 29 hours, also due to technical difficulties on the plane which was originating from Tokyo.  CHANNEL NEWSASIA