Sentosa Golf Club's Tanjong Course soaked by heavy rain on May 4. - ST PHOTO: ERVIN ANG
SINGAPORE (The Straits Times/ANN): Heavy rain prompted flood warnings for large parts of Singapore on the morning of Saurday, and caused delays at Changi Airport and at the LIV Golf tournament on Sentosa.
At about 10.35am, PUB posted a flood alert on social media platform X that heavy rain was expected over “many areas of Singapore” from 10.35am to 11.20am. It was the latest in a series of posts that began at 6.27am alerting the public about the inclement weather.
The national water agency also urged the public to avoid certain roads such as TPE (Punggol West Flyover) and Jalan Pokok Serunai in Bedok because of heavy rain, and issued flash flood alerts for several areas, including Upper Paya Lebar Service Road (from Lim Teck Boo Road to Rochdale Road) and Craig Road from Duxton Road to Tanjong Pagar Road.
At Changi Airport, outgoing flights were hit by delays, while flights that had landed experienced baggage handling disruptions.
A photo sent by a Straits Times reader that was taken just before 9am showed that at least eight flights were delayed for boarding at Terminal 3.
PUB also told the public at about 8.10am to avoid TPE (Punggol West Flyover) and Jalan Pokok Serunai for an hour, due to heavy rain. - ST PHOTO: NG SOR LUAN
Mr Reef Singh, 22, said his Scoot flight from Singapore to Sydney had been delayed from 10am to 12.30pm.
The pilot had announced before take-off that due to the heavy thunderstorm and the risk of lightning, cargo handlers were unable to load the passengers’ luggage ahead of the near-eight hour flight to Australia.
The pilot explained that a decision was made to depart without the luggage as the airport in Sydney has an 11pm curfew (9pm Singapore time). He added that the luggage would be put on the next flight to Sydney, which would arrive the following morning.
Mr Singh, who was travelling with two friends, said the group were “frustrated and annoyed” when they heard the announcement and would have preferred the flight to be cancelled instead so that they could collect their luggage from the airport at the end of the subsequent flight.
He explained that although they live in the city, it takes them more than an hour to get to the airport by car.
Passengers arriving at Changi Airport Terminal 2 on Saturday (May 4) faced baggage collection delays caused by bad weather. - ST PHOTO: SAMUEL DEVARAJ
Some passengers arriving at Changi had to wait for almost two hours for their baggage because of the rain.
At Terminal 2, several passengers – from at least four flights – could be seen waiting at the baggage claim area. They included passengers who arrived on Singapore Airlines flights from Dubai and Munich.
Changi Airport staff could be seen distributing snacks like Milo packets and Oreo biscuits to waiting passengers.
One man, Mr Robert Hall, arrived in Singapore after travelling for almost 30 hours.
The American told The Straits Times he had travelled through Washington DC, Dallas and Tokyo before arriving here, only to have to wait another two hours for his baggage.
Mr Hall said he was looking forward to going to his hotel after a long journey to see if he could check in early.
However, the 58-year-old engineer, who is in Singapore for business, was understanding about the situation.
“I understand that the weather cannot be predicted,” he said.
In response to queries, Changi Airport Group said the delays in baggage presentation were caused by the inclement weather and lightning warnings, which had prompted it to prioritise the safety of its ground handlers.
It added that affected passengers are encouraged to approach its on-ground staff for complimentary refreshments and that they can choose to exit and re-enter the baggage claim area once their baggage is ready for collection.
A photo of a flight information board at Changi Airport taken just before 9am on May 4 showing at least eight flights delayed at Terminal 3. - PHOTO: ST READER
It noted that complimentary baggage delivery service is available for affected passengers on selected airlines.
“Public announcements are being made in the terminals to keep passengers informed of any updates. We advise passengers to stay updated by checking with their respective airlines and monitoring the Changi Airport flight status page or Changi App for the latest information,” it added.
“We apologise for the inconvenience caused.”
Over at Sentosa Golf Club, tee-off times for the LIV Golf event were first pushed back to 10.45am, then to 12.45pm and subsequently to 2pm.
The shotgun start, which involves all 54 golfers teeing off concurrently from different tees, was initially slated for 9.15am.
Earlier, overcast skies circled the Serapong Course and a drizzle eventually progressed into heavy rain pouring onto the waterlogged greens.
On May 2, the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS) had warned that the Republic was set for a wet start to May, forecasting moderate to heavy thundery showers in the late morning and afternoon on most days for the first fortnight of the month.
The MSS added that there may be widespread thundery showers with gusty winds on a few mornings. - The Straits Times/ANN
