Singapore Airlines appeared to be having a bad day. And its passengers probably had it worse.

More than 500 SIA passengers were stranded in Changi Airport on Wednesday, June 27, due to problems on not one, but two of the SQ aircraft.

Two Boeing aircraft were set to depart to Bangkok and Melbourne respectively, before being hit by separate technical difficulties.

Delays

The first aircraft was SQ972 to depart for Bangkok at 9.35am, but was delayed by five hours 41 minutes.

The second aircraft was SQ217 to depart for Mebourne at 11am, but was delayed by three hours 41 minutes.

Technical difficulties

Both aircraft experienced technical difficulties, and passengers were not able to depart on their original aircraft.

Instead, they had to wait for SIA to arrange replacement aircraft, after several hours of waiting.

Passengers on SQ972 were transferred to a replacement Boeing 787-10, while passengers on SQ217 were transferred to a replacement Boeing 777-300ER.

No compensation rules in Singapore?

Unfortunately, there are no laws in Singapore that stipulate exactly how much compensation affected passengers are entitled to after being subjected to a flight delay.

This is in stark contrast to the rules implemented by the European Union and the United States.

In the EU, according to the regulation known as EC261/2004, passengers affected by flight delays of more than three hours are entitled to between €250 (S$397) to €600 (S$953), depending on flight distance.

These regulations are not only put in place for European airlines, but any airline that operates within the EU.

This means that any flight that experiences a delay within the EU will be liable under these regulations, regardless of airline's nationality.

In 2017, SIA was one of the five international airlines that was told by the UK Civil Aviation Authority to pay passengers who experience delays, or risk being taken to court.

In the US, passengers get between 200 percent to 400 percent of their one-way fare to the destination, depending on how long the flight was delayed.

In the case of SQ972 to Bangkok, which was delayed by more than five hours, passengers could have been entitled to 400 percent of their one-way fare, up to a maximum of US$1,350 (S$1,841), should similar rules be in place in Singapore.

Contact the airline ASAP to negotiate

Due to the lack of regulations, customers will have to negotiate directly with SIA to get their compensation.

Airlines will normally offer anything, such as frequent flyer miles to airline credit, which can be used for future flights.

However, they may not be proactively offered to passengers, depending on the situation.

Therefore, savvy consumers should definitely contact the airline directly as soon as possible to negotiate proper compensation for their troubles.

While passengers are naturally frustrated, one must remember to make reasonable demands for the trouble they were given.

For example, if a flight was merely delayed for 30 minutes, one cannot expect much from the airline other than an apology.

In the case of SQ972 to Bangkok, the flight delay of five hours 41 minutes ended up being more than twice the flight time to Bangkok, and can certainly put a dampener on the most well-made vacation plan.

Here's to hoping SIA does the right thing and compensate their customers fairly.

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Top composite image via Singapore Airlines and FlightAware