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NETIZENS slammed Singapore's Patient Zero for not cancelling her trip to the US and bringing the Influenza A(H1N1) virus here.
But educators and travel agents say that cancelling a trip that had been planned months in advance isn't easy because of the logistics and people involved.
Singapore Management University(SMU) student Theresa Wee, 22,became Singapore's firstH1N1patient after returning from a 10-day study trip to New York on Tuesday.
Mr John Lim, 50, operations manager of travel management company Citystate, said cancelling a trip was not easy as there were several parties to deal with.
His company arranges flights for companies and tertiary institutions. Those who cancel flights must pay the airline an administrative fee of $75 to $100 per ticket as well as Citystate's administrative charges, which Mr Lim declined to reveal.
He said: 'For group seats on airlines, we have to book in advance and pay a deposit. If you ask for 30 seats and you don't have that number, the airline could penalise you.' It might cost even more if you had made a booking with land operators and hotels at your destination country.
He said: 'There's a lot of logistics involved for the schools because they would have planned their trips months in advance.'
Because government money was involved in planning such trips, the decision to cancel could not be taken lightly, said a tertiary institution lecturer who declined to be named.
He said some trips have been planned six months earlier to book accommodation and to get the signatures for indemnity forms, passports and tickets. Parents need to be told and students need to prepare for the trip. He said: 'You might not be able to get a refund if it's a last-minute cancellation.'
Besides dealing with money issues, teachers have to manage their students' emotions when a trip is canned.
Upset & cried
A secondary school teacher, who declined to be named, recalled a trip in 2003 that was cancelled the day before they left.
Sars had hit Singapore and their destination was listed under a Ministry of Health travel advisory as one to be avoided.
The teacher said the travel agent gave the school a full refund as a goodwill gesture, but some students were upset and cried as it would have been their first time on a plane.
Last week, the Ministry of Education (MOE) told The New Paper it had advised schools to continue to review their travel plans, particularly to H1N1-affected areas.
A primary school teacher said she spent six months planning for a student trip to Europe last year. As the trip was partly funded by MOE, she had to justify it. Tenders had to be placed on the government tender website Gebiz to pick a travel agent.
She said: 'The virus could have been brought in by a businessman. Does it mean we stop all businessmen from travelling?' - Andre Yeo
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