TripZillaFollowing the eruption of the Mount Agung volcano in Bali, more than 450 flights were cancelled leaving over 50,000 tourists stranded. For three days, tensions at Denpasar International Airport ran at an all-time high as travellers wait in dreary frustration for updates on alternative flight routes.
Image credit: @mhafizzuddin
Amidst the slew of complaints from stranded holidaymakers, we found a positive story from Chen Boon Chong, a Singaporean who was affected by the events. Boon Chong’s flight was one of the hundreds that were cancelled, but kudos to him for seeing beyond the travel disruptions he faced and giving praise where praise is due.
Boon Chong was supposed to fly from Bali back to Singapore but the airport closure made that impossible. After he managed to return home via a detour to Surabaya, he chronicles the lengths that Singapore Airlines went to professionally handle the airport closure situation:
See Boon Chong’s full post here.
According to Boon Chong, the staff “worked with [him] on backup plans to take the flight from either Surabaya or Jakarta, remaining professional despite going [through] different permutations and scenarios, as well as handling passengers in the various emotional states.”
Buses were arranged to ferry stranded travellers to Surabaya, and an additional flight was flown to Surabaya to fly them back to Singapore. The staff even accompanied the passengers on the 18-hour bus journey to Surabaya Juanda International Airport. He was also greatly appreciative of the arrangement of stopovers for passengers to freshen up and have simple buffet meals.
“From the bottom of our hearts, well done Singapore Airlines. You made us very proud of you!” We are with you on this, Boon Chong.
