S'poreans touring Turkey get S$400 Feb. 28 return flight cancelled due to war, say they had to pay S$2,660 for new flight due to 'communication issues' with travel agency

A group of eight Singapore travellers found themselves stranded in Istanbul, Turkey, when their return flight was unexpectedly cancelled due to the Iran war.

They never would have imagined that the United States and Israel would launch airstrikes on Iran the very day they were supposed to fly home, on Feb. 28.

Speaking to Mothership, three women who were part of the group shared that they booked the tour to Turkey with Singapore travel agency WeBuy around September 2025.

About 11 hours after Qatar Airways confirmed at the Istanbul Airport that the flight was cancelled, the women received a message from WeBuy suggesting that they book an alternative return flight, adding that they would have to pay for the ticket themselves.

A messy situation

When the women — Emily, Anna, and Sam (not their real names) — first heard about the Iran war breaking out, they were already about to set off for Istanbul Airport.

They saw the news that Qatar, where they were scheduled to have a layover, had closed its airspace.

But as they did not hear from Qatar Airways about any cancellation, their group decided to continue on to the airport anyway to check out the situation.

"It was just a mess [at the airport]," Anna recalled. "No one knew what was going on, because everything just happened so suddenly."

They also had trouble finding any ground staff from Qatar Airways to get more information.

"We were just pretty much left on our own," Sam said.

Asked to wait

So they sought help from their travel agency.

Even before their flight cancellation was confirmed, Emily, Anna, and Sam said they contacted WeBuy at the airport for advice on what they should do.

They told WeBuy they had found alternative return flights online for about S$700, and asked if they should book one first.

According to them, the agency said they were looking for alternative flights and arranged for the group to stay a night at a nearby hotel to await further updates.

That was around 7pm on Feb. 28, Turkey time, and it was not until about 6am the next morning that WeBuy informed them they had to book their own alternative flight.

In the message, seen by Mothership, the travel agency said they had been closely monitoring the situation and had been in contact with Qatar Airways, but there was still no update from the airline by then.

Additional costs

The women were alright with paying for their tickets. "We just wanted to get back [home]," Anna said.

However, they were frustrated by how long WeBuy purportedly took to give them this confirmation.

Flight prices had allegedly increased significantly by this time, such that the flight Anna and Emily eventually secured cost them around S$2,660 each.

Their tour package costs less than that, at S$1,599 each.

"I think this is something they could have handled better, because we already told [WeBuy] from the start that Qatar is cancelling [the flight] and doing a full refund, so I don't know why they were still telling us to wait," Anna said.

"Had they confirmed with us right on the spot, we could have gotten a flight back to Singapore right the next day without having to pay so much more out of our pocket."

The women also said they had to pay for the extra two hotel nights before their new return flight on Mar. 3, adding up to another S$237 per person.

All three women had bought travel insurance with different companies before their trip, but only Anna managed to get S$300 reimbursed, while Emily and Sam had their claims rejected.

Communication issues

The staff could have been more proactive in reaching out to help them arrange the new flight, they felt.

As the women were unable to book any flight themselves, possibly due to network issues, they needed WeBuy's help.

"The sales agent said, 'No worries, your sales [representative] will contact you individually.' They did not contact us individually. We had to contact them," Sam said.

According to Sam, the flight WeBuy eventually got for her and her mother was one of several flights she had sent to the sales agent over WhatsApp.

"Even though they were the conduit that booked the flight, the person who found the flight was actually my mom and me, with the help of [Emily and Anna]," she said.

WeBuy's response

In response to Mothership's queries on May 8, WeBuy shared that the situation on Feb. 28 was "highly fluid and unprecedented", and there were no immediate answers or confirmed arrangements available, including from Qatar Airways.

The agency said that upon being informed of the flight cancellation, they contacted the group at the earliest opportunity and arranged accommodation for them without delay.

They also coordinated additional ground transportation and maintained close communication with the group throughout the process.

On why the group had to pay for the alternative flights themselves, the agency explained that unforeseen events such as conflict-related disruptions and emergency travel changes fall outside the scope of the standard tour package coverage.

"This is consistent with industry-wide practice," WeBuy said.

"Passengers were given the option to wait for Qatar Airways' re-accommodation arrangements. However, the group expressed a clear preference to return to Singapore as soon as possible rather than await the airline's subsequent arrangements...Notwithstanding that these circumstances were entirely beyond our control, we continued to support the group on the ground via a group chat."

In their statement, the agency also said they believe the response and arrangements provided to the group were carried out responsibly and with full care throughout the period.

Another Singapore traveller who booked a tour with WeBuy to Turkey from Feb. 28 to Mar. 7 similarly had his return flight cancelled, and had to spend another S$2,300 for the new flight, Shin Min Daily News reported on Apr. 26.

However, the public relations manager of CTC Travel, another Singapore travel agency, told Shin Min that his company would typically take care of and cover the costs of any alternative flight arrangements in the case of a cancellation.

Settling the refund

After making it home to Singapore, Emily, Anna, and Sam reached out to WeBuy again to ask about the refund for their cancelled flight, which was about S$400.

There were inconsistencies in the timeline that the different sales representatives gave for processing the refund, according to the women, which frustrated them again.

In messages seen by Mothership, Anna contacted Qatar Airways about the refund, and was told on Apr. 30 that the airline had already processed the refund to their travel agency.

However, their WeBuy representatives told the women that they were still awaiting the refund from the airline.

On May 8, all the members of the tour group received the full refund, according to Anna.

On the matter of refunds, WeBuy said in their statement that their process remains subject to the airline’s own procedures and timelines.