Jewel Car Park at Terminal 1 of Changi Airport charges S$0.04 per minute for the first 90 minutes. Subsequent 30 minutes or part thereof will be S$5 per 30 minutes. However, the rate for general parking at level B3 to B5 is S$0.04 per minute. Here’s the Math question – How long do you need to park your car in order to rake up an eye-popping S$3,158.72?

 

A delivery driver by the name of “Supra Mac” had a shock of his life when he found out that the parking barrier at the Singapore Airport won’t let him exit until he pays his parking charge of S$3,158.72 (US$2,319; £1,796; RM9,586). Probably angered, shocked, confused, amused and whatnot, Mr. Supra posted on his Facebook the photo of the parking charge to be paid.

 

Needless to say, the photo went viral. The delivery driver claimed that he had only been at the loading/unloading bay at Jewel Car Park for at most 45 minutes. A spokesman for the Jewel Changi Airport Dept, while confirming the amazing incident, has explained that it occurred because the driver’s previous exit – on April 10 – had not been registered.

That means when Mr. Supra tried to exit the car park on Wednesday (April 24), the system happily calculated his parking fees since 14 days ago. The spokesman said – “We confirm that this was a case that took place on April 10 in the Jewel loading/unloading bay. There was no record of the driver leaving the car park, and hence the parking charge snowballed until the next visit, which took place on April 24.”

 

The spokesman also said all drivers are encouraged to maintain “a safe distance” from the car ahead to ensure that the parking system successfully records all entrances and exits, suggesting that Mr. Supra could have performed a favourite stunt among drivers who wanted to beat the system because of refusal to pay parking fees – tailgating.

 

Mr Supra, however, claimed that he did not encounter any issues when he drove out of the car park on April 10 and that he did not tailgate any vehicle. He only found out that he could not leave the car park because of “insufficient balance” after he made a delivery on April 24. He said – “I had just topped up my Cashcard in the morning … When I saw the amount, it was like a joke.”

The other reason could be a glitch in the parking system at the Changi Airport. In the case of Mr. Supra, he was allowed to leave the car park after a “fruitful conversation” with a staff of Jewel Car Park over the intercom. He did not pay anything except a 10-15 minutes wait before the barrier was lifted. The delivery driver said – “I think no one is to blame. It was just an error and they resolved it.”

 

Netizens have suggested various naughty but cheaper methods to escape the S$3,158.72 fees, if the management of Jewel Car Park insisted that Mr. Supra pays for the parking. Ideas included tailgating another vehicle and exit to ramming through the barrier to calling tow truck. But the fact that he was allowed to exit without paying means the whole drama could most likely due to system problems.

 

It seems parking at Jewel Car Park of Changi Airport is a luxury experience that could cost you an arm and a leg. Still, with all the sophisticated cameras and monitoring system in place, one can always argue – even challenge – the Changi Airport, supposedly world’s best airport for the seventh straight year, if they’re absolutely innocent.

 

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April 27th, 2019 by financetwitter

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