A man detained in a cell in Singapore over a COVID airline bungle has spoken out.

Earlier this year, listener Richard caught COVID before his trip to Thailand via Singapore.

Jetstar advised him he only needed a letter of recovery from his GP.

But Thai officials refused him entry without a negative test and he was put on a flight back to Singapore where he was thrown into a detention cell.

Richard’s room.

Richard claims he spent the next 40 hours locked up and is now banned for life from Singapore.

He tried to reach out to Jetstar while he was there but received no help.

He told Ben Fordham “it was brutal”.

“I had a guard at my door with a gun.”

Jetstar has now offered to reimburse him but he remains hindered from travelling through Singapore.

They told Ben Fordham in a statement, “A member of our team visited Mr Grant during his time in Singapore to provide support and options to enable him to continue his journey as quickly as possible”.

“Unfortunately, the most immediate option to travel was not taken up by Mr Grant, extending his time in Singapore.” (Full statement below)

Press PLAY below to hear the full interview

Full statement from Jetstar:

“We appreciate this was an incredibly stressful situation for Mr. Grant.

“This happened during a period of unprecedented Government restrictions on global travel which were changing frequently, which is why we continued to strongly recommend that all passengers regularly check the entry requirements of the country they were travelling to.

“A member of our team visited Mr. Grant during his time in Singapore to provide support and options to enable him to continue his journey as quickly as possible.

“Unfortunately, the most immediate option to travel was not taken up by Mr. Grant, extending his time in Singapore.

“We sympathise with Mr. Grant and sincerely regret any misunderstanding that may have occurred prior to travel.

“We will reach out to him once again to discuss what additional support we can provide.”