Malaysia Jan/Feb 2020

Wow. It's been a pretty intense 24 hours. I'm just about to board a flight returning to Kota Kinabalu from Singapore airport, having been denied entry to Singapore. Here's what happened...

Yesterday afternoon (Feb 5th), my school's HR department told me not to return to China yet, but to stay outside and wait for more information in the next few days. "Perfect!" I thought, "Now I can spend a few days in Singapore before going back."

My flight to China was due to transfer in Singapore and the airline's website said free changes or cancellations were available on flights to China. It seemed so simple - just cancel the second part of the flight and stay on in Singapore, no visa needed for up to 90 days. I was very pleased with my plan!

The first challenge came in contacting Scoot (the airline). Their call centre numbers outside of Singapore were out of service, and they were not responding to emails. "Never mind," I thought, "I'll sort it out face-to-face with a human at the airport. Easy" So off I went.

At the airport, I discovered I wasn't allowed to enter Singapore without proof of an onward journey booked. To save time at check-in, I said I'd keep my original itinerary until arriving in Singapore, so I could get online and book a bus ticket out while waiting for the plane. The ground staff were happy with that and I continued on my way, with about 1 hour to eat, change my cash and book my bus and accommodation before boarding. It all seemed fine.

Then, of course, my bank card got declined while booking the bus... I had a notification to say Halifax would be contacting me, but of course they couldn't reach me on my English number. That's when I started to panic - I knew I wouldn't be permitted to enter Singapore without that ticket booked, and I was running out of time. My Halifax app kept crashing and I ended up in a queue to speak to a real person through their online messenger. Meanwhile, I changed my remaining ringgit to Singapore dollars, went through another security check where I had to empty the water bottle I'd just refilled, and joined the queue to board the plane.

While on board, I ignored instructions to turn phones to airplane mode, desperately waiting for a response from Halifax, which came just in time! They unblocked my card and I booked my bus ticket and a place to stay as the plane lined up on the runway. Thank goodness! I was really thirsty and stressed, but had nothing to drink as I'd emptied my bottle to get through security, and stingy Scoot wouldn't refill it for me on board. However, it seemed that everything was going to be ok, so I settled into my flight.

About ninety minutes later, the cabin crew began the decent and landing announcements. "Blah blah blah.... Blah blah blah... And please be aware that passengers who have been in China within the last 14 days are not permitted to enter Singapore..." WHAT? I did a quick count on my fingers... 12 days since I left China... Noooo! I called for help and two flight attendants puzzled over my situation together. Told not to reenter China, but not allowed to enter Singapore either... They finally concluded I would have to declare myself to immigration, and they'd probably send me back to KK. Great. They wished me luck as I disembarked and headed to the Scoot transfer counter to see what could be done.

Of course, the employees a the counter didn't really know much. The weren't sure what countries I could enter, telling me just to Google it (Google did not help). They also couldn't change my flight and wouldn't let me use their phone to call the call centre, telling me to go use a pay phone instead.
Feeling a little hopeless, tired and thirsty, I found an information desk and told them my predicament. They kindly let me use their phone to call the Scoot hotline.

Nearly 2 hours later, I was still on the phone. It was gone 1am and the lady on duty needed to close up and go home. I had spent most of the time on hold, doodling and half listening to the various complaints and questions of all the other passengers requesting help, from the totally confused to the downright rude! I must say, it was interesting to witness first hand how the information desk employees handle their shifts. Complain after complaint rolls in, grumpy, ungrateful or simply rude passengers demand things from them constantly, and they take the blame for an endless stream of problems that were not their fault. Yet they just keep smiling and helping people out calmly and politely. I was really impressed by them.

Finally, the call centre employee returned to the line. She had found me a return flight to KK and was booking me onto it. We were so close to finishing, I was so ready to get some sleep, drink some water and have a pee, when the line cut out... I almost cried.

I returned the phone to the information point employee so she could end her shift, and headed back to the Scoot transfer desk. This time, I demanded they let me use their phone to call their company's call centre. While I like to go through life being friendly and polite, that was my first experience of how, as a customer, anger and disappointment can sometimes solve problems that politeness can't... After 40 more minutes on hold, they decided they could contact someone else directly to help resolve the issue, and another 30 minutes later I finally had a boarding pass to return to KK.

I got a few hours' sleep on the airport floor, had a very tasty egg, mushroom, pepper and cheese wrap for breakfast, and headed off to board my escape flight back to KK. Fingers crossed they don't change any rules while I'm in the air and they let me back in.Read more