Long queues, frustrated passengers at Changi Airport after some airlines' systems go down in global IT glitch

SINGAPORE: Long queues and frustrated passengers were seen at Changi Airport on Friday (Jul 19) after a global tech glitch affected flights, banking and company operations in countries including Singapore, the United States, the United Kingdom, India and Australia. 

When CNA arrived at Changi Airport Terminal 1, long, snaking queues were seen at the departure hall.

Changi Airport service ambassadors were on site to hand out snacks and bottled water to travellers as they queued up to check in for their Scoot flights.

A service ambassador told CNA that self-check-in machines were down, adding that check-ins had to be done at the counter.

At regular intervals, an announcement from the airport could be heard over the intercom: “We are experiencing a disruption in Scoot’s check-in system. We are trying our best to restore the system as soon as possible. We are sorry for the inconvenience.”

In a Facebook post, Changi Airport said that the check-in process for some airlines was being managed manually.

"Due to a global outage affecting IT systems of many organisations, the check-in process for some airlines at Changi Airport is being managed manually.

"Changi Airport ground staff are providing assistance to passengers, especially those with an impending departure," it said, apologising for any inconvenience caused.  

Scoot was not the only one affected. Checks by CNA revealed that AirAsia, Jetstar and Cebu Pacific’s check-in systems at Terminal 4 were also disrupted.

PASSENGERS’ FRUSTRATIONS MOUNT

As the lines grew, so did passengers’ frustration and anxiety.

Scoot passenger Tang Runxin, whose flight was scheduled to depart at 4.30pm to Hangzhou, said he was nervous about missing his flight.

“They told me to wait and that maybe someone will cue me,” said Mr Tang, who had been queuing for more than an hour when CNA spoke to him at 3.45pm.

“They said I’ll arrive at my flight on time but I don’t know if I’ll be able to do that,” said the Chinese national.

Another Scoot passenger Nicole Lin, whose flight to KL was scheduled to depart at 5pm, said she had seen some news headlines about the disruption when she was on her way to the airport. But she was not too concerned as her flight was still a few hours away.

“I’m not too stressed yet because I’ve already checked in online so I just need to get my boarding pass and baggage tag,” said the 27-year-old.

“But I think we have to wait and see because it’s moving quite slowly,” she added.

At a Cebu Pacific check-in counter in Terminal 4, a family of six told CNA that they had arrived at 3pm for their 6pm flight to Manila, and had been waiting for almost 2 hours to check in. 

Mr Joe Valbuena said the airline staff handed out snacks such as chocolate milk and packets of Oreo to affected travellers in the queue.

The 30-year-old said he was “kind of upset” with the situation, adding: “We could be at a restaurant, getting our coffee. But now we’re just spending our time queueing.”

At around 5.30pm, long queues at Cebu Pacific continued to form.

Ms Germaine Santos, who was also headed to Manila, said that she expects the flight to be delayed. But she was not too concerned about missing it as there were still many other passengers waiting to check in.

Over at Jetstar, the queue went around the entire check-in counter, with some travellers sitting on the floor as they waited.

A Bangkok-bound traveller told CNA that he had arrived at the airport at 4.30pm to check in for his 7.15pm flight.

But the airline staff had told him to “come back later”. He returned at 5pm and had been waiting in the queue for about an hour.

Mr Jay, who only gave his first name, said that he does not travel often and was unsure if this was the norm.

Another traveller, Ms Mary, who wanted to be identified only by her first name, said she was with a friend who had already checked in online the day before.

Asked if she was worried about missing her flight, she shrugged and said: “It is what it is.”

Tempers also flared at the airport when some passengers realised they had missed their flights.

CNA spotted some disgruntled passengers and a staff member in a heated exchange at Scoot’s flight management counter. One of the passengers could be heard shouting “I have been waiting for two hours”.

The same passenger who only wanted to be known as Ms Tan later told CNA that she had missed her flight, despite reassurances from airport staff that the plane would not leave without her.

Ms Tan, who was supposed to depart from Singapore to Ipoh at 3.25pm, said that she had arrived at the airport before 2pm and had repeatedly been told by staff to wait in line.

“They kept saying please wait, please wait and then the plane was gone. It left without us, it ditched us,” said Ms Tan.

“They told us that the earliest flight was tomorrow and that it would be to Kuala Lumpur, which means we would have to drive to Ipoh from there.”

“(The staff at the Scoot flight management counter) kept saying ‘this is not our fault, this is not our fault. Nobody wants this’,” she added.

“He said ‘that’s all we can do. Enough is enough. We are trying to help. Don’t disturb'," she said.

“It’s so frustrating. It’s been a nightmare.”