PUBLISHED ONJanuary 03, 2025 3:11 AMByCandice CaiA family comprising a woman, her elderly mum on a wheelchair and domestic helper were caught in a predicament on Sunday (Dec 29), after they were trapped in an aerobridge upon disembarkation from a Cathay Pacific plane.
The plane had landed at Changi Airport's Terminal 4.
The passenger, Michele Yap, wrote in a social media post in the wee hours of Monday that the trio were stuck behind the locked arrival gate for 30 minutes.
"Shame on you for not checking there were still passengers disembarking and locked the gate!
"My 81-year-old mother was so traumatised!" Yap wrote.
A woman whom Yap identified as an airport staff member was also with them. Beyond the locked doors, the terminal appeared to be empty.
In the video, the staff member told Yap she was calling the airport police but was unable to get through due to the "high call volume".
Yap wrote in the post: "We couldn't get through to airport police, the medical emergency line said it wasn't an emergency, it took the frantic SAS staff half an hour to finally reach her boss to get someone to let us out!
"Unbelievable oversight and lack of proper protocol! Travellers beware!"
In replies to comments on her post, Yap said that they were not the last ones to disembark. She was also able to walk back onto the plane to "find just anybody who could help".
Yap stated that her mother was "starting to panic and became very anxious" due to the wait.
AsiaOne has reached out to Yap for more information.
Cathay Pacific responded to Yap's post on Instagram the same day, stating: "We understand how frustrating this must have been, especially for your mother. We are currently investigating the matter and will follow up with you shortly. Thank you for bringing this to our attention."
In a reply to AsiaOne's queries, a spokesperson from Cathay Pacific confirmed the incident and apologised to Yap.
"We acknowledge an incident involving a passenger and her mother who were unable to exit the aerobridge due to the arrival gate being locked," said the spokesperson.
"Based on our initial investigation, a staff member from our ground handling agent did not conduct a thorough check prior to closing the doors of the arrival gate."
The spokesperson added that they are reviewing procedures with their ground handling agent to ensure that such incidents do not occur in the future.
"We are in touch with the passenger to address her concerns. We deeply regret this oversight and apologise for the inconvenience caused to the passengers," said the spokesperson.
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candicecai@asiaone.com
