Scoot making arrangements to bring back Singaporean passengers, crew quarantined in Hangzhou

Singapore Airlines’ budget arm Scoot said on Saturday (Jan 25) that it is making arrangements for a flight to bring back Singaporean passengers as well as the crew of flight TR188 which landed in the Chinese city of Hangzhou from Singapore on Friday.

"Subject to relevant regulatory approvals, Scoot is making arrangements to mount a flight to Hangzhou to transport 9 passengers of Singapore nationality and the 11 cabin crew and pilots who are currently still in Hangzhou under the care of the local authorities, back to Singapore. Scoot is working closely with the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, the Changi Airport Group and the relevant authorities on the arrangements," a Scoot statement said.

A male passenger from the flight was taken for further blood tests after the flight landed, in a bid by the authorities to prevent the further spread of the Wuhan coronavirus.

All 314 passengers on the flight have been isolated at Hangzhou International Airport until the blood test results are released. 

The passengers had to undergo “enhanced health screening” upon landing, said Scoot, adding that passengers sent for blood tests had to go for additional screening as well.

Earlier on Saturday, Scoot said that it wanted to clarify the “online conversation” about flight TR188. Due to the temporary suspension of all public transport networks in China’s Hubei province, the carrier cancelled all flights between Singapore and Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, from Jan 23 to Feb 2.

Those who had booked these cancelled flights were given three options: fly to Wuhan on a later date, re-route their flight to other destinations within China, Macau or Hong Kong, or get a full refund. 

Out of the 314 passengers on flight TR188, about 110 were passengers who had originally planned to fly to Wuhan, but chose the option of re-routing their flight to Hangzhou. 

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Upon landing, these 110 passengers had to undergo enhanced health screening at Hangzhou International Airport, and from that pool, one had to be sent for further blood tests, said the Scoot spokesman.

While the crew of flight TR188 had to be isolated, the plane made a return trip back to Singapore after it was disinfected, added the spokesman.

Due to this, the returning flight TR189 was delayed by more than six hours. It was scheduled to depart Hangzhou at 11.15pm on Friday but only took off at 5.30am on Saturday. 

“TR189 customers were provided with refreshments during the delay,” said the Scoot spokesman. “There are disinfectants, hand sanitisers and masks available on all Scoot flights for use by passengers and crew if required.”

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In response to media queries, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore director-general Kevin Shum said: "The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore and Changi Airport Group are working with Scoot and the relevant authorities to provide assistance to affected passengers and crew." 

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

“ICA would like to clarify that this is untrue and the alleged incident did not take place,” said the authority, adding that members of the public should not speculate or spread unfounded rumours. 

It also advised the public to visit the Health Ministry’s website for updates on the Wuhan coronavirus situation.

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.