Scoot passenger upset at no refund for Bali flights
He was supposed to fly with a colleague to Bali on Wednesday on budget airline Scoot, but the work trip was cancelled when they found out a volcano on the Indonesian island was threatening to erupt.
While colleagues who had booked flights to Bali from other airlines managed to get refunds, Mr Lester Kwok and Mr Jason Chong could not get a refund from Scoot.
Scoot had posted on its website on Sept 24 to alert affected passengers that they had the "option to change to a later date".
Other airlines such as Garuda Airlines offered affected passengers the option to book other dates or get a refund.
Mr Kwok took to Scoot's Facebook page to complain.
The New Paper contacted Scoot but it did not reply by press time.
On Sept 22, the Indonesian authorities raised the alert level for Mount Agung to the highest level, Stage 4, which means an eruption is imminent.
Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sept 23 advised Singaporeans to "defer non-essential travel" to the affected areas during this time, and for those already in Bali to avoid Mount Agung and its area.
Since then, various airlines have been offering affected passengers options to find alternative solutions.
Singapore Airlines on Sept 23 said in a statement it was monitoring the situation in Bali, and customers travelling there from Sept 23 to Oct 9 can contact the SIA ticket office to rebook their flight or ask for a refund.
Mr Julian Lee, Great Eastern financial advisory director, said: "Most general insurance covers the passenger if they are involved in a natural disaster.
"However, if they miss a flight by choice, they will not be able to get any compensations on their flights."
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