SINGAPORE: Over the past few days, some drama unfolded after a traveller proclaimed Singapore’s Changi Airport as the “most incompetent” she had ever experienced.
Her beef with the well-admired airport apparently had something to do with the carpeting, of all things.
“Officially crowning Singapore the most incompetent airport I’ve ever witnessed.
Make sure you leave early when flying out cuz they’ll make life difficult for you every step of the way :),” wrote an X user who goes by Flo (@neflorious) in an Oct 9 post.
According to her bio, the post author works in crypto, makes merch, and is based in Dubai, and appears to have visited Singapore for work earlier this month.
She fired the first shots as she was leaving, with a Tweet that read, “now which stupid **** decided to put down CARPET at the Singapore airport,” followed by the post calling the airport the most incompetent.
Now, the carpeting at Changi Airport is a specific design choice. While many other airports have tiles, which are easier to clean, Changi Airport’s carpets reduce noise and are easier to walk on.
Many commenters told her she should have used a baggage trolley to make things easier, which she wasn’t keen on doing.
However, because Changi Airport is a source of pride for many Singaporeans, and perhaps rightly so, as it’s widely recognised as one of the best in the world, many commenters took aim and fired.
In one of the milder takes, one wrote, “Sorry that our airport didn’t consult you during their design…. sorry that we NEEDED your permission when installing carpets…. sorry that you were inconvenienced because of carpet…. just grow the **** up.”
In a post on Oct 12, after being surprised that other X users had been offended at her previous posts, Flo explained at length why she had been unhappy with Changi Airport.
Her first issue was that, despite multiple planes flying out at the same time, there were only two security lanes open, which she added resulted in some chaos as the scheduled departure times drew near.
“As the flights turn to last call one after the other, the staff starts panicking and shout to please step to the front if your plane is leaving, so now a bunch of people are trying to squeeze in front of others who are already at the security checkpoint with their baggage open,” she wrote, adding, “It was a ****show.”
As for the carpet problem, she wrote that in this day and age, there are now materials that are “both quiet and sleek” and that having to use a trolley when her carry-on bag already has wheels is “BAD UX”.
She also complained that there were no convenience stores for snacks, though she admitted that the “orange juice was elite.” However, because of the security check at the gate, passengers who had bought beverages at the airport after checking in were required to throw them away.
Flo also claimed that after the gate shuffle train was announced, it didn’t let people in, and then, in response to commenters who had questioned her experience, said she has travelled to at least 20 countries over the past two years and that she had arrived at Changi Airport more than two and a half hours ahead of her departure time.
Apparently taking pleasure in being salty, she added, “The pride and joy of my people don't reside in airport logistics.” /TISG
Read also: Changi Airport hits nearly 70M passenger record in 2025, stays 7th busiest in Asia-Pacific