By Sujin Thomas
'If I don't get on a flight soon, I'm going to be setting up a permanent camp here and singing for money.'
Briton Lee Price, 20, who is left with just 20 pounds (S$42) and S$5 in his wallet
Some stranded passengers would rather continue camping out in the airport terminals at Changi, as they want to be able to catch the first flight out once travel resumes, while others say they do not have the funds to pay for hotel stays. -- ST PHOTO: DESMOND WEE
WHILE most travellers who were stuck in Changi Airport since Thursday have moved into downtown hotels, a handful are still not budging.
At the transit area of Terminal 3 yesterday evening, two groups of people told tales of how they have whiled away their days exploring the terminal's facilities, shops and eateries.
French national Sophie Coutelot, 34, said: 'We've played chess, watched movies in the transit lounge's cinema, done shopping and eaten at Burger King. We know the airport very well now.'
She and her boyfriend, Mr Cedric Pointier, 33, have slept in sleeping bags in the terminal since Thursday evening when their Air France flight to Paris was cancelled. They were leaving Singapore after spending a week here.
When asked why they chose to stay on, Ms Coutelot said: 'We prefer to be here so that we can be on the first flight out. We've even tried looking for flights to other parts of Europe but it's the same problem everywhere. Hopefully we get on a flight over the next couple of days.'
About 50m away from them, on another row of seats, Briton Beena Madhavan, 36, was sprawled out on a sleeping bag reading books and newspapers with her seven-year-old son. Her husband and elderly parents-in-law had gone for a shower on the second level of the transit lounge at that time
