SYDNEY - HUNDREDS of Australians stranded in Thailand by political protests were on Tuesday heading home after being picked up by a specially chartered Qantas flight, the airline said.

With Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi international airport and domestic hub Don Mueang shut down by thousands of protesters, Qantas sent a plane to the southern resort city of Phuket to pick up the travellers.

The 289 passengers, who took the 14-hour bus trip to Phuket from Bangkok on Monday, left for Singapore early on Tuesday and were now being found spaces on flights back to Australia, a Qantas spokeswoman said.

'Depending on what the passenger requirements are, where they want to go, we'll accommodate them on all flights accordingly,' the spokesman told national news agency AAP.

The airline has said it will make another evacuation flight out of Phuket at 2.00 am local time on Wednesday and will consider further services if they are required.

The Australian government on Saturday asked Qantas for assistance in evacuating hundreds of citizens from Bangkok after becoming frustrated with a lack of progress on the part of Thai authorities. -- AFP