Viral video of South Asian travellers at Changi Airport at least a month old: CAAS

SINGAPORE: A video that purportedly shows South Asian travellers at Changi Airport on Wednesday (May 5) was filmed before Singapore tightened restrictions on arrivals from the region, the aviation authority said.

The video, which was posted on the Singapore Incidents Facebook and Instagram pages with the caption “Latest video at Changi Airport..... ?” and the date “05/05/2021” superimposed on it, shows a number of South Asian passengers arriving at Terminal 1. 

Voices are heard in the video discussing whether the passengers were in Singapore for work or holidays, and remarking that there were "so many" of them. 

The video has been viewed about 38,000 times on the Singapore Incidents Facebook post. It has since been taken down.

“The post is misleading. This video was not taken on May 5, 2021,” the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) said in a post on its Facebook page.

“The video showed the passengers arriving at Changi Airport Terminal 1, and a clock indicating 1453 hours. No flights from South Asia had arrived at Terminal 1 in the early afternoon of May 5, 2021.

“Based on the video footage, passengers were seen walking past a renovation hoarding at gate hold room D42/43. This hoarding was removed on Apr 5, 2021. This establishes that the video was taken before Apr 5, 2021,” CAAS said.

READ: Singapore to stop entry for all long-term pass holders, short-term visitors with recent travel history to India

READ: Singapore to bar visitors from Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka

In response to queries from CNA, CAAS said it is considering whether to take further action against those who posted or circulated the video.

Singapore has denied entry to long-term pass holders and short-term visitors with recent travel history to India since Apr 24. This includes those who transit in India.

Those with recent travel history to Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have also been barred from entering or transiting in Singapore since May 2. 

India is currently facing a deadly surge in COVID-19 cases, with close to 4,000 deaths and more than 400,000 new cases reported on Thursday alone. The crisis has also impacted neighbouring countries in South Asia.

“We urge the public to rely on information from official websites and not to circulate videos and other information that may contain falsehoods,” CAAS said. “We will release more information shortly.”

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