Foreign visitors stuck in S’pore after flights cancelled due to airspace closure

It took multiple phone calls, three visits to the Emirates office in North Bridge Road, and hours of waiting before Ms Anna Napierala was sure her mother would be able to fly safely from Singapore to her home town in Poland.

- Esther Loi

When news of the airspace closures across the Middle East first broke, the 41-year-old called repeatedly to check if her 63-year-old mother’s March 3 Emirates flight — due to transit in Dubai — was cancelled.

But without timely updates from the airline, the Singapore-based teacher had to make her way to the Emirates office on March 2, where she was greeted by a snaking queue.

She left because the estimated waiting time at 4pm was three hours, and the office was set to close at 6.30pm.

She was able to see a customer service agent only after her third visit, when she secured a seat for her mother on a Turkish Airlines flight on March 10. This will transit in Istanbul instead.

While Emirates handled the rebooking process and she did not have to pay extra, Ms Napierala said it was an arduous and “frustrating” experience. Even so, she is relieved that her mother will no longer fly through the affected airspace.

When The Straits Times visited Emirates’ office at 10am on March 3, at least 40 people were waiting in line.