BANGKOK: Besides arranging for transport and hotel stays, Singapore Airlines (SIA) staff have gone the extra mile to help SQ321 passengers and their families with their various requests.
Ms Eva Khoo, who knows seven Malaysians on the turbulence-hit flight, said staff members helped her brother, Mr Khoo, and his wife's aunt, Madam Saw, to retrieve their phones, which were left behind in the aftermath of the incident.
Mdm Saw had her jacket cut off her when she was taken to the hospital, and her phone and passport were inside her jacket pocket.
Despite being in the intensive care unit (ICU) with her neck in a brace, Mdm Saw remembered that she had an important meeting on Thursday (May 23) and needed to find her phone so that she could reschedule the appointment.
Speaking to CNA on Thursday, Ms Khoo said she asked someone from SIA to help Mdm Saw get her phone back.
"I said her phone is very important, you have to find it for me."
The staff found Mdm Saw's phone and jacket. They also found jewellery and money that belonged to her along with the jeans she was wearing. SIA is still working on retrieving Mdm Saw's passport.
They also helped to find Ms Khoo's brother's phone and delivered it to him at around 9pm on Thursday.
Members of SIA's crisis management team left for Bangkok mere hours after SQ321's emergency landing on Tuesday.
The company's CEO Mr Goh Choon Phong also flew over and met with affected passengers and crew as well as their family members and loved ones in Bangkok on Thursday.
Several people – some wearing lanyards with the Singapore Airlines logo on it – were seen walking into an ICU ward at Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital on Thursday.
In Singapore, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat commended the SIA crew for their "very dedicated service and professionalism".
Speaking at a business competitiveness engagement session, Mr Chee said: "As several passengers have pointed out, despite the crew members themselves getting injured in the process, they continued to look after the passengers, to help the passengers.
"So truly appreciative and grateful to all our crew members for their dedication and their professionalism," he said.
As of noon on Friday, 12 patients remained warded at Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital. One Singaporean who was receiving treatment at Samitivej Srinakarin had left the hospital, though 34 patients of other nationalities remained.
There were still two Singaporeans being treated at Bangkok Hospital.
Ms Khoo praised SIA's response to the incident, saying the staff have been professional. "We do appreciate (it), because it's an accident, nobody wants (that to happen)."
The airline booked a business class seat on a direct flight for her to travel from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok on Wednesday, and has taken care of her transport within the Thai capital.
SIA staff have been stationed in the hospitals as well as the hotel she is staying in, she added.
Ms Khoo said she has not asked the airline about compensation because she has been busy shuttling between two hospitals where her relatives and friends are hospitalised.
SIA assured her that the hospital bills would be covered by the company.
"We don't have to worry. (When) we want to go back, just let them know, they will arrange everything. This is what they have promised us."
She is unsure how long her family will be in hospital here, and whether they may choose to continue treatment in Malaysia if they can be transferred.
Asked if there is anything else she would want Singapore Airlines to address, Ms Khoo said she was concerned that some of her relatives and friends may not be able to work because of the injuries sustained.
Four of the seven work in the same company, she added.
They may also be affected in the longer term, and may need further treatment. "My brother says he definitely cannot drive," she said
Mr Khoo and his wife, three of their relatives and one friend set off on a trip to Europe earlier this month.
The first stop was Switzerland, and the tour group they were with also visited Germany, the Netherlands and France.
While the rest of the tour group returned home, the seven of them extended their trip to spend a few days in the United Kingdom.
On Monday in London, they boarded SQ321 to Singapore and were meant to travel on to Penang.
But the SIA flight hit a patch of turbulence that left one passenger dead and many injured, and made an emergency landing in Bangkok.
Mr Khoo's father-in-law and the latter's sister were in lavatories when the incident occurred, and suffered neck and spine injuries.
They remain in the ICU, along with one friend who needs surgery to put screws into his neck.
Mr Khoo, who experienced numbness and cannot turn his neck properly, was initially in the ICU but has been transferred to a normal ward.
His wife, who is two months pregnant with their second child, will undergo surgery for her spine on Friday.
Ms Khoo said she only found out about her sister-in-law's pregnancy on Thursday when they were discussing her treatment options.
"The first doctor, actually, I think the communication is not very good," she said. "It (sounded like), you have to do the operation, but then you have to give up the baby."
Her sister-in-law's emotions are not very stable, said Ms Khoo.
"(She was) scared and worried until she cried."
Finding out about her pregnancy made Ms Khoo's family more concerned, but another doctor later explained that while there were risks, her sister-in-law did not need to have an abortion in order to have the surgery.
For now, Ms Khoo said she is happy to be in Bangkok with her family.
"I feel relieved. At least I get to see them, and I know each and every one is okay."
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Ms Eva Khoo, who knows seven Malaysians on the turbulence-hit flight, said staff members helped her brother, Mr Khoo, and his wife's aunt, Madam Saw, to retrieve their phones, which were left behind in the aftermath of the incident.
Mdm Saw had her jacket cut off her when she was taken to the hospital, and her phone and passport were inside her jacket pocket.
Despite being in the intensive care unit (ICU) with her neck in a brace, Mdm Saw remembered that she had an important meeting on Thursday (May 23) and needed to find her phone so that she could reschedule the appointment.
Speaking to CNA on Thursday, Ms Khoo said she asked someone from SIA to help Mdm Saw get her phone back.
"I said her phone is very important, you have to find it for me."
The staff found Mdm Saw's phone and jacket. They also found jewellery and money that belonged to her along with the jeans she was wearing. SIA is still working on retrieving Mdm Saw's passport.
They also helped to find Ms Khoo's brother's phone and delivered it to him at around 9pm on Thursday.
Related:
Members of SIA's crisis management team left for Bangkok mere hours after SQ321's emergency landing on Tuesday.
The company's CEO Mr Goh Choon Phong also flew over and met with affected passengers and crew as well as their family members and loved ones in Bangkok on Thursday.
Several people – some wearing lanyards with the Singapore Airlines logo on it – were seen walking into an ICU ward at Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital on Thursday.
In Singapore, Transport Minister Chee Hong Tat commended the SIA crew for their "very dedicated service and professionalism".
Speaking at a business competitiveness engagement session, Mr Chee said: "As several passengers have pointed out, despite the crew members themselves getting injured in the process, they continued to look after the passengers, to help the passengers.
"So truly appreciative and grateful to all our crew members for their dedication and their professionalism," he said.
As of noon on Friday, 12 patients remained warded at Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital. One Singaporean who was receiving treatment at Samitivej Srinakarin had left the hospital, though 34 patients of other nationalities remained.
There were still two Singaporeans being treated at Bangkok Hospital.
Ms Khoo praised SIA's response to the incident, saying the staff have been professional. "We do appreciate (it), because it's an accident, nobody wants (that to happen)."
The airline booked a business class seat on a direct flight for her to travel from Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok on Wednesday, and has taken care of her transport within the Thai capital.
SIA staff have been stationed in the hospitals as well as the hotel she is staying in, she added.
Related:
Ms Khoo said she has not asked the airline about compensation because she has been busy shuttling between two hospitals where her relatives and friends are hospitalised.
SIA assured her that the hospital bills would be covered by the company.
"We don't have to worry. (When) we want to go back, just let them know, they will arrange everything. This is what they have promised us."
She is unsure how long her family will be in hospital here, and whether they may choose to continue treatment in Malaysia if they can be transferred.
Asked if there is anything else she would want Singapore Airlines to address, Ms Khoo said she was concerned that some of her relatives and friends may not be able to work because of the injuries sustained.
Four of the seven work in the same company, she added.
They may also be affected in the longer term, and may need further treatment. "My brother says he definitely cannot drive," she said
EUROPE TOUR ENDED WITH HOSPITAL STAY
Mr Khoo and his wife, three of their relatives and one friend set off on a trip to Europe earlier this month.
The first stop was Switzerland, and the tour group they were with also visited Germany, the Netherlands and France.
While the rest of the tour group returned home, the seven of them extended their trip to spend a few days in the United Kingdom.
On Monday in London, they boarded SQ321 to Singapore and were meant to travel on to Penang.
But the SIA flight hit a patch of turbulence that left one passenger dead and many injured, and made an emergency landing in Bangkok.
Mr Khoo's father-in-law and the latter's sister were in lavatories when the incident occurred, and suffered neck and spine injuries.
They remain in the ICU, along with one friend who needs surgery to put screws into his neck.
Mr Khoo, who experienced numbness and cannot turn his neck properly, was initially in the ICU but has been transferred to a normal ward.
His wife, who is two months pregnant with their second child, will undergo surgery for her spine on Friday.
Ms Khoo said she only found out about her sister-in-law's pregnancy on Thursday when they were discussing her treatment options.
"The first doctor, actually, I think the communication is not very good," she said. "It (sounded like), you have to do the operation, but then you have to give up the baby."
Her sister-in-law's emotions are not very stable, said Ms Khoo.
"(She was) scared and worried until she cried."
Finding out about her pregnancy made Ms Khoo's family more concerned, but another doctor later explained that while there were risks, her sister-in-law did not need to have an abortion in order to have the surgery.
For now, Ms Khoo said she is happy to be in Bangkok with her family.
"I feel relieved. At least I get to see them, and I know each and every one is okay."
Continue reading...