As I was saying...

My flight back from Christchurch shared a boarding gate with a flight to Singapore, the announcements for which, over the couple of hours I was waiting there, became more and more tragic.


"This is an announcement for Flight XXX to Singapore. Your aeroplane has landed, but appears to be experiencing some mechanical trouble. We have engineers investigating and will make another announcement when we know more."

[30 minutes pass]

"This is another announcement for Flight XXX to Singapore. Our engineers have disassembled your plane. We will let you know as soon as they have put it back together."

[30 minutes pass]

"This is another announcement for Flight XXX to Singapore. Our engineers have reassembled your plane. However, there appears to be a part missing. We are currently trying to locate this part."

[10 minutes pass]

"This is another announcement for Flight XXX to Singapore. We are currently making enquiries as to the availability of replacement aeroplane parts in New Zealand. We will let you know as soon as we have located the part our engineers require."

[5 minutes pass]

"This is another announcement for Flight XXX to Singapore. The aeroplane part required for your plane is only available in Australia. We are having one flown in. Your flight will be delayed for at least another four hours. We regret this inconvenience."

[20 minutes pass]

"This is another announcement for Flight XXX to Singapore. We are very sorry to announce that there may be further delays to your flight beyond those already anticipated. Your flight crew have now exceeded their shift hours. We are currently inquiring as to the whereabouts of Singapore Airlines staff in New Zealand and will let you know as soon as we have put together a new crew."


At this point in the saga my flight boarded, so I never did find out what happened to the poor passengers on the flight to Singapore. I hope they got well compensated, whatever the outcome, because when I left they were looking like they were about to start a riot.