Singapore — contract of carriage, CAAS oversight and the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act

The clocks it starts

• Two years for a Montreal Convention claim (Art. 35)This is the limitation period for the Convention claim for proven delay damages on international carriage, not for any national compensation scheme, which may have its own. It is fatal to the Convention claim specifically, and correspondence does not suspend it.Montreal Convention 1999, Art. 35(1) — Art. 35(1)Limitation period

What it entitles you to, beyond money

• The conditions of carriage are a contract, and they bind the airlineSingapore Airlines, Scoot and every carrier serving Changi publish conditions of carriage that promise specific things on delay and cancellation — rerouting, meals, accommodation, refunds. Those promises are contractual terms. Quote the clause number back at the carrier: a passenger who cites the airline's own document is in a different conversation from one asking for goodwill.
• The Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act, where the conduct was unfairThe Act gives a consumer a claim where a supplier does something misleading or unconscionable — advertising a schedule it had already decided not to operate, refusing a refund it had promised, or representing a voucher as the only available remedy. It is not a delay-compensation statute and will not help with a weather delay, but it is the right instrument when the complaint is really about how you were dealt with.
• CASE mediation, which is cheap and worksThe Consumers Association of Singapore mediates consumer disputes including with airlines, for a modest fee, and its mediation is where most of these resolve. The Small Claims Tribunals hear claims up to SGD 20,000 (or SGD 30,000 by agreement) with a filing fee of a few tens of dollars and no lawyers.
• Montreal Convention damages for delay (international carriage)On international carriage between States Parties, Art. 19 of the Montreal Convention makes the carrier liable for the damage the delay actually caused you — the unused hotel night, the missed onward booking, the extra meals and transport — unless it proves it took all measures that could reasonably be required. It is capped at 6,303 SDR per passenger (the figure ICAO set with effect from 28 December 2024) and it requires receipts, not a formula. This claim exists independently of any national scheme, and airlines never mention it. The right is extinguished two years after arrival under Art. 35.Art. 19, Art. 22(1)

Where to take it next

1. 01Written claim to the airlineWrite to the carrier quoting the specific clause of its own conditions of carriage that it did not honour, and what you want. Do not ask for "compensation" generically — ask for the thing the contract promised.Claim direct·typically 30 days
2. 02Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE)CASE mediates consumer disputes with airlines. It is not a regulator and cannot order payment, but airlines engage with it and mediation settles most of these.Regulator·typically 90 days·official page
3. 03Small Claims TribunalsBinding on themClaims up to SGD 20,000, or SGD 30,000 where both sides agree, heard without lawyers for a small filing fee. The claim must be filed within two years of the cause of action. This is the route with actual teeth.Small claims·typically 180 days