Couple accused of cutting queue at Scoot counter in Shantou airport had BoardMeFirst tickets
A couple involved in a 'shouting match' at Jieyang Chaoshan International Airport in Shantou has hit back at queue-cutting accusations.
Stomper Alex earlier shared a video of the Dec 18 incident, showing two men in a heated argument while checking in for Scoot flight TR129, which was departing for Singapore at 2.55pm.
"The first guy had already done the passenger check-in and was queueing for the luggage check-in at the side," Alex recounted. "The other guy came about 30 minutes later and wanted to do the luggage check-in and squeezed into the queue. Both parties ended up squeezing each other and the quarrel happened."
However, the second man's wife, AL, tells Stomp that this is "only one side of the story" and would like to shed more light on what happened.
AL and her husband had purchased Scoot's BoardMeFirst service, which allows priority check-in and priority boarding privileges.
She said: "We reached the check-in counter one hour before 12.55pm and were told that we were only able to check in at 12.55pm.
"However, the helpful staff offered to issue us boarding passes first and asked us to place our luggage at the counter, in front of the rest. This is because we had BoardMeFirst tickets and also why the staff assured us it was okay to do so.
"When we were at the counter, we only saw a line of luggage at the side and no one was there. We believed these people had not been issued boarding passes.
"After half an hour, we came back and saw a group of people waiting to be issued boarding passes.
"As it was approaching 12.55pm and while we were waiting, there was this boy in front of me and I thought of letting him check in first.
"However, the man in the blue shirt in the video started shouting and yelling at me until the whole airport could hear."
That was also the start of the whole "episode" caught on video, AL added. She believes that the man who shouted at her did not have BoardMeFirst tickets as he was among the last few groups to board the aircraft.
AL wrote in to Scoot to complain upon arriving in Singapore and received the following response.
AL, who described the situation as "distressing", said she felt worse after the incident was posted online and sparked backlash.
AL told Stomp: "This issue needs to be clarified, and given fairness and integrity. Due to the slew of negative comments, it is unjust and one-sided. I need justice to be given to me."
