Lankans leaving Thailand at airport there (pic courtesy Sri Lankan embassy in Thailand)

A second group of 87 Lankans, who were stranded in various cities in Thailand due to the Covid-19 pandemic, were repatriated to Colombo from Bangkok yesterday morning (21), via a special SriLankan charter flight UL 403, organized by our Embassy there.

The special flight included a few Buddhist monks, students, those who were on short term visit visas to Thailand, and several others on humanitarian grounds.

 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 from Bangkok on 21 August early morning 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 its Ambassador to Sri Lanka Madam Chulamanee Chartsuwan.

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 Prof. 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 of the National Carrier – SriLankan its Head of Sales Dimuthu Tennakoon and the Head Office team and its Country Manager, Thailand Riza Yusoof 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 from Phnom Penh Cambodia via Singapore.