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Wuhan virus: Passengers, crew on Scoot flight from Singapore isolated in Hangzhou airport for health screening

SINGAPORE — A Scoot flight from Hangzhou to Singapore, meant to depart on Friday night (Jan 24), was delayed for over six hours as the plane had to be disinfected and the passengers on its earlier flight had to undergo enhanced health screening, the airline said in a statement on Saturday.

Scoot said the flight was originally scheduled to depart Hangzhou at 11.15pm on Friday and arrive in Singapore at 4.25am on Saturday.

Scoot said the flight was originally scheduled to depart Hangzhou at 11.15pm on Friday and arrive in Singapore at 4.25am on Saturday.

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SINGAPORE — A Scoot flight from Hangzhou to Singapore, meant to depart on Friday night (Jan 24), was delayed for over six hours as the plane had to be disinfected and the passengers on its earlier flight had to undergo enhanced health screening, the airline said in a statement on Saturday.

Scoot said the flight was originally scheduled to depart Hangzhou at 11.15pm on Friday and arrive in Singapore at 4.25am on Saturday. 

However it only departed for Singapore at 5.30am on Saturday.

In its statement, which it issued to clear the air around "online conversation" about flight TR188, Scoot said that due to the temporary suspension of all public transportation networks in China’s Hubei province, it cancelled flights between Singapore and Wuhan from Jan 23 to Feb 2. 

Passengers on these flights were offered three options: A full refund, to re-route their flight to other destinations within mainland China, Macau or Hong Kong, or to fly to Wuhan at a later travel date.

On Friday, Scoot flight TR188 from Singapore to Hangzhou carried a group of about 110 passengers who had opted to return to mainland China via another Scoot destination – in this case Hangzhou. The plane carried 314 passengers in total. Upon landing into Hangzhou, all passengers had to undergo enhanced health screening at Hangzhou International Airport. 

"The aforementioned 110 passengers underwent additional screening, while one of the passengers had to be sent for further blood tests," Scoot said. 

All passengers and crew of the flight have been isolated at the airport until the blood test results are out.

As a result of the enhanced screening, the return flight TR189 from Hangzhou to Singapore was delayed. 

The customers were provided with refreshments during the delay, the airline added. 

Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) director-general Kevin Shum said in response to media queries that the CAAS and Changi Airport Group are "working with Scoot and the relevant authorities to provide assistance to affected passengers and crew". 

Separately, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said in a statement on Saturday that it was aware of rumours circulating online that more than 100 arriving travellers from Wuhan were denied entry into Singapore. 

The ICA clarified that this is untrue and the alleged incident did not take place.

Related topics

Scoot Wuhan pneumonia Wuhan

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