Taipei, Nov. 29 (CNA) Close to 700 Taiwanese stranded at Thailand’s airports had been flown home as of Saturday noon, through assistance provided by two major Taipei-based carriers, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

With the assistance of China Airlines (CAL) and EVA Airways Corp., around 700 stranded nationals were transported back to Taiwan from Utapao Airport in Pattaya and Chiang Mai airport, as Suvarnabhuni International Airport in Bangkok has been inoperative over the past four days due to a siege by anti-government protesters, the MOFA said.

Taiwan’s representative office in Thailand will continue to coordinate with the two airlines to arrange additional flights to bring Taiwanese nationals home as soon as possible, the ministry added.

The Bangkok representative office has set up a task force to offer round-the-clock assistance to Taiwan people trying to get home, and three officials were dispatched to help Taiwanese nationals at Utapao Airport, some 40 kilometers away from Pattaya, the MOFA said.

But according to a Taiwan diplomat, it is very difficult to arrange more flights from Utapao Airport because of its limited capacity and poor facilities. (By Flor Wang)