Another 130 Thais arrived home from Israel on a Royal Thai Air Force plane on Monday morning, the fourth group to have returned since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on Oct 7.
The air force’s A340-500 took off from the Ben Gurion airport in Israel on Sunday at 7.27pm (Thailand time) and landed at Don Mueang airport on Monday at 6.50am.The 127 men and two women, and a five-year-old girl, were received on arrival at the Wing 6 terminal by Defence Minister Sutin Klungsang and air force chief-of-staff ACM Seksan Kantha.Before boarding the aircraft, all were examined by an air force medical team and went through security checks. (continues below)
Defence Minister Sutin Klungsang talks to some of the evacuated Thai workers at Wing 6 terminal. (Photo supplied/ Wassana Nanuam)
Of the workers, one was carrying an injury from a fall before the war, one broke his arm and had undergone surgery and five had flu symptoms but tested negative for coronavirus with ATKs.
After going through an immigration process, they were taken from Don Mueang airport to the Bamrasnaradura Infectious Diseases Institute, where they would be met by waiting relatives.Mr Sutin said the aircraft would return to Israel and bring home another group of Thais on Wednesday, taking the same route.Workers who returned on Monday would be initially paid 15,000 baht compensation each by the Ministry of Labour. The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security would take care of transport to their home provinces.
The workers expressed their happiness to be safely home and thanked the Thai embassy staff for taking good care of them.Some of them said they would not being going to work in Israel again, believing the war was still far from over. Others said they still wanted to return to work there because they had debts to be paid off.
Thai workers wait to go through immigration at the military terminal of Don Mueang airport. (Photo supplied/ Wassana Nanuam)