appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

SCMP Reporter

Stranded travellers urged to return home in next two days
Emergency charter flights were arranged last night to pick up hundreds of residents stranded in Thailand in an abrupt U-turn by the Hong Kong government.
The security chief last night asked Hong Kong travellers in Thailand to conclude their trips and catch the government charter flights home in the next  two days.
The decision came after news that Hong Kong resident David Yick Hok-wing died and his wife, Fung Man-wai, was injured in a road accident in Thailand early yesterday morning as they rushed  to catch a flight back to Hong Kong.
It also came about 24 hours after the administration ruled that charter flights were unnecessary.
Secretary for Security  Ambrose Lee Siu-kwong,  who returned from a visit to South Korea and Japan last night, said the U-turn was due to concerns about the worsening security situation in Bangkok.
'There are indications that violence may escalate. We heard that there were bomb attacks,' Mr Lee said. He urged Hongkongers who were still there to return as soon as possible.
About 820 Hong Kong residents had sought government help since being stranded in Thailand after the two major international airports in Bangkok were forced to close by protesters, a spokesman said.
The spokesman said 430 of them had since returned to the city or indicated they would take the chartered flights. Others has said they would arrange flights themselves.
Officials hastily convened a press conference on Sunday morning,   saying charter flights were not needed. Deputy Secretary for Security Ngai Wing-chit  said: 'The problem is not about charter flights. Even if there are charter flights, they may not reach Pattaya.'
Thai authorities have allowed airlines to use a military airfield in U-Tapao, near Pattaya.
Last night Mr Lee said the government had sought help from the  foreign ministry to  secure landing slots for Hong Kong government charter flights to U-Tapao.
He rejected criticism that the government response had been slow, saying: 'It is not the first time we have had people stranded overseas. In the past, airlines would arrange flights to bring them back.'
Early today  a Cathay Pacific flight chartered by the government brought home about 380 residents.   Another charter flight operated by Hong Kong Express  brought home another 200. A third flight will leave U-Tapao at 1pm Thai time (2pm Hong Kong time) today.
But passengers wanting to catch the first flight, which was scheduled to leave Thailand at 8.30pm Thai time, were given little warning. News about the flight was  released in Hong Kong via the government information service at just before  5pm Thai time. It asked those who intended to board to arrive at U-Tapao before 7pm Thai time.
Critics  said the bad arrangements had confused  stranded residents.  In the end, the departure of both charter flights was delayed to just before 11pm Thai time.
There were also complaints that some special flights arranged by airlines previously had been largely unoccupied because many passengers - without access to updated information - could not reach them in time.
Legislator Lau Kong-wah  said the government owed the public an explanation of its inaction.
Thailand was struggling with more than 300,000 stranded travellers yesterday as anti-government protesters beefed up their presence at the two main airports in Bangkok.
By yesterday, the mainland had  taken home about 2,430 of its residents, Xinhua reported.



HK in U-turn on charter flights to Thailand