Passengers stuck at Changi Airport boarding gate for 1 hour after departure & arrival mix-up

A recent mix-up at a boarding gate in Changi Airport's Terminal 4 resulted in passengers getting stuck in the gate area for about an hour.

Around 10pm on Jan. 1, people arriving in Singapore from Kuala Lumpur found themselves entering the airport through the same boarding gate as people who were about to get on a flight, Zaobao reported.

One of the arriving passengers, a 36-year-old woman named Gong Ping (transliterated), told Zaobao that she got off the plane rather late, and by that time, all the glass doors to boarding gate 11 were closed.

The airport authorities had closed the doors after realising the mix-up between departing and arriving passenger flows.

They went around asking each person at the gate whether they were departing or arriving, and this verification process reportedly took about an hour.

According to Zaobao, the incident likely happened because the airport staff did not ensure that all arriving passengers had exited the boarding gate before opening the doors to the departing passengers.

The witness's account

Gong shared that several passengers from her flight had already gone out of the gate and into the arrival hall before the airport staff noticed the issue.

As Gong was at the front of the line, she knew what was happening, while those behind her were unaware.

"While we were waiting, a passenger suddenly shouted," she recalled. "But no conflict happened, thanks to the efforts of the staff and other passengers to calm this person down. Most of the passengers there also kept calm as they waited for the authorities to resolve the problem."

It was finally resolved around 11pm, when the authorities first moved the departing passengers to another location, and then allowed those arriving to leave the gate and enter the airport.

Gong said she believed the staff at the scene reported the issue immediately after they realised it, but it was not until about 30 minutes later that other staff went to the gate to address it.

She expressed confusion about why the airport authorities took that much time to resolve the problem.

"Such mistakes should not happen at Changi Airport," she added. "The way the authorities handled the situation was also not reasonable and prompt."

Changi Airport's response

In response to Mothership's queries, a Changi Airport Group spokesperson confirmed that a security incident occurred at Terminal 4 on Jan. 1.

The situation was promptly identified, and addressed in accordance with established security protocols, the spokesperson said.

Passengers were temporarily held in separate areas to restore the proper flow arrangements, and the airport provided refreshments to arriving passengers in the baggage claim hall.

Changi Airport Group has reviewed the circumstances surrounding the incident, and is working closely with airport partners to improve processes and minimise the recurrence of such incidents.

The spokesperson did not explain the cause of the incident, whether it was the first time such an incident occurred, nor how long it took to resolve the issue.

Top images from Zaobao