Second Group of 87 Lankans return from Thailand

The second group of 87 Sri Lankans, who were stranded in various cities in Thailand due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, was repatriated to Sri Lanka from Bangkok-Thailand yesterday (21), via a special SriLankan Airlines charter flight UL 403, organized by the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Bangkok.

The special flight that had onboard a few Buddhist monks, students, Sri Lankans who were on short term visit visas to Thailand, and several others on humanitarian grounds, arrived at the Bandaranaike International Airport last morning.  All repatriated individuals will undergo the necessary medical tests, and will be directed by the Sri Lankan security forces and health authorities to the mandatory quarantine centers, both State-sponsored and self-paid private hotels, designated by the Government of Sri Lanka.

This special repatriation flight that arrived in Bangkok also carried a group of Thai citizens, and Sri Lankans who have received re-entry permission to Thailand, and the inward trip from Colombo to Bangkok was organized by the Royal Thai Embassy in Colombo and Madam Chulamanee Chartsuwan, the Ambassador of Thailand to Sri Lanka.

The Embassy of Sri Lanka in Bangkok acknowledge the close cooperation and prompt directions received from the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Sri Lanka, including from Foreign Secretary Admiral Jayanath Colombage, the COVID Task Force at the Presidential Secretariat and the Ministry’s COVID-19 Focal Point, in making this repatriation process a success.  The Embassy also received excellent support from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, and the staff of the Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok, by timely facilitation of the repatriation of this second group of Sri Lankans from Thailand, who had been registered with the Embassy and in the ‘Contact Sri Lanka’ online portal created by the Ministry of Foreign Relations, requesting assistance to return to Sri Lanka.  The Embassy appreciates the support SriLankan  Airlines, Dimuthu Tennakoon, Head of Sales and the Head Office team and Riza Yusoof, Country Manager, Thailand and his team, for the excellent cooperation extended through this entire process.

Dr. Nenette Motus, the Director of the Regional Office of International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Bangkok and IOM Colombo deserves the sincere appreciation of the Embassy for their prompt and generous response  and support received under the Assisted and Voluntary Return and Repatriation (AVRR) project for Bali Process Member States. 

Earlier in the month, the Embassy also made arrangements to repatriate a group of 16 Sri Lankans in Phnom Phen Cambodia via Singapore.