‘We found a washing machine, $30k cash’: Woman behind Changi’s announcements shares stories from dream job
Think Singapore is just a nation of people working typical corporate jobs? Introducing Stomp’s new original series, Don’t Try This At Work, where we spotlight individuals with risky, exciting, unconventional and even downright terrifying jobs.
From cleaning up after death to exploring kink, the series offers a behind-the-scenes look at occupations most people would never dare to try — and the people who do them every single day.
From a washing machine and bicycles to an envelope stuffed with cash, senior public announcement officer Kanchana Marmalingam has seen some unusual things left behind at Changi Airport.
And beyond making gate-change and flight-delay announcements, dealing with lost-and-found items is also part of the job for the all-women team known as the Voices of Changi.
From her experience, such items — including a microwave — are sometimes left behind by passengers who have stayed in Singapore for an extended period.
“When they return home, they do not have enough luggage space. Their (baggage) weight is (only) this much,” shared the 52-year-old.
In some cases, passengers only realise at the last minute that they cannot take the items with them and end up abandoning them at the airport.
It is then her team’s job to log the items with the airport’s lost-and-found service before they are destroyed if left unclaimed after a month.
A unique start to her dream job
Kanchana never imagined her career would lead her here.
As a girl, she was fascinated by the voices making announcements at Changi Airport whenever she went to send her grandparents off on their travels.
When Stomp visited Kanchana at Terminal 2, she recalled how she would listen closely to the announcements.
“I told myself I have to do this announcement once in my lifetime. By God’s grace, I got the job,” she said.
Now almost three decades into her dream job, Kanchana remains as passionate as ever, proud to be one of eight women — all in their 50s and 60s — who make up the Voices of Changi.
Tucked away in an unassuming office in T2, the bubbly and outgoing announcer sits surrounded by screens with a microphone at her desk.
Each day, she communicates important information to passengers, from final boarding calls and gate changes to paging passenger names.
Before landing the job, Kanchana worked as a check-in staff member at the airport. Even then, she said she would listen to the announcements in awe.
“I love the way they do it. I’ve been to many airports, but it’s not like that,” she said.
When an opening for a public announcement officer came up, she went for it, got the job and has never looked back.
Before every shift, Kanchana checks that her systems are working before she begins making announcements in English and Tamil.
Depending on manpower and passenger traffic, she makes between 40 and 60 announcements a day.
While announcements make up a large portion of her role, she also handles calls from passengers enquiring about flights and baggage concerns.
For lost-and-found items, announcements are generally made only for passports or other identification documents. Passengers looking for items such as wallets and bags would instead have to approach an information counter.
More than $30,000 left in a taxi
One particularly memorable lost-and-found case happened when Kanchana was heavily pregnant with her third child.
The memory was especially vivid as she remembered sweating profusely on the job while being far along in her pregnancy.
A taxi driver handed her an envelope containing more than $30,000 in cash that a passenger had left behind.
“This uncle came and gave the item to me, and it took me (a long time) to count the money because they were small notes,” she said.
Kanchana had to count the large wad of cash carefully to confirm the exact amount, while making sure the taxi driver did not leave.
Just as she finished, the owner of the envelope came running to the information counter.
Even then, she had to “ask him a lot of questions” and verify his identity with the taxi driver before returning the envelope to him.
“He was so thankful because it’s not a small amount,” she said.
Her voice guided passengers through T2 fire in 2017
One of Kanchana’s proudest moments on the job came in 2017, when she was on duty during a fire at Terminal 2.
On the evening of May 16 that year, a fire broke out at T2, resulting in passengers being evacuated to the tarmac and flights being diverted to Terminal 3.
The fire was extinguished about an hour later. Around 40 flights were affected and six people required medical assistance.
The Singapore Civil Defence Force gave the all-clear at about 10pm.
“I’m very proud to say that I was there,” said Kanchana.
She recalled “holding the fort” and making announcements every 10 minutes for about three to four hours straight until her throat was dry.
“What was amazing was I had never seen an airport without passengers. There were only police and fire fighters there as T2 was closed,” she said.
“I will never forget that day.”
Challenging names that still keep her on her toes
Despite nearly 30 years in the job, Kanchana said pronouncing unfamiliar names remains one of the challenges she faces.
Some of the more difficult names she has encountered belong to Russian, Ethiopian, South African and Sri Lankan passengers.
For such names, she and her colleagues would practice saying the name before going on air, mindful not to unknowingly offend passengers by mispronouncing their names.
Announcers would occasionally search for the name online to learn the correct pronunciation.
“The longest name that I’m proud I can pronounce is a Sri Lankan name,” she said. “They can have up to four syllables per name.”
Meeting and helping people still best part of the job
While Kanchana’s voice has become a familiar sound to passengers at Changi Airport, few would recognise the woman behind it.
She said no one has recognised her voice outside the office, because the voice she uses on air sounds very different from how she speaks normally.
Changi Airport has also been the backdrop to some of the most meaningful moments in her life.
She met and got to know her husband there while working as a check-in staff member.
They have now been married for 26 years and have three children.
Asked why the Voices of Changi team is made up entirely of women, Kanchana laughed.
“No men allowed,” she joked.
“A lady’s voice is very soothing and nice... I think that is really a unique thing (in Changi Airport).”
She described her team as a “family” rather than just colleagues and said she treasures the bond they share.
But what keeps her coming back after three decades is simple: she enjoys meeting people and helping them.
“I’m actually representing our country’s airport,” she said.
“I’m so proud to say I’m one of the Voices of Changi. Although nobody knows who I am, that’s fine.”
Explore more on these topics
See something interesting? Contribute your story to us.
