A church group of 50 Singaporeans who had been stranded in Bangkok cheered and clapped when SilkAir's MI765 touched down at Changi Airport.

As they walked into Terminal 2's arrival hall, they fell onto their knees and gave thanks.

They had been due to come home last Wednesday from a 12-day Israel trip, with a transit of just a few hours through Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi International Airport.

Those hours turned into days with the airport shut down by protesters.

At first, some group members were excited about the unscheduled stopover - and shopping trip - in Bangkok.

But as the group was shuttled from the Rama Gardens Hotel to the Siam City Hotel, and kept on waiting lists for days, they became desperate to get home, said the group's leader, Mr Leong Sow Hoe, 48.

They were also running out of money and, for some elderly members with chronic illnesses like high blood pressure or diabetes, medicine too.

'Luckily, someone had a pharmacy contact, and we could get substitutes,' said account manager Michael See, 58, who said he had to call to reschedule his appointment with his heart specialist.

But getting home was also an ordeal.

Flights to Phnom Penh, then Singapore? Full. Train tickets? Booked solid till next week.

They were so hard up for ways home they even tried to get on board a cargo ship - but it could take only 10 people. Said Mr Leong: 'Everywhere we called, they said, 'Fifty? What a huge number.'

'If the worst should arise, we were going to send the old and sick back first.'

Finally, they were helped by the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok to get 50 seats on a SilkAir flight out from Phuket yesterday.

Even a 12-hour overnight ride there on a faulty coach with a brake problem was all right, human resource manager Hazel Ng said.

They opted not to stop and change buses just in case there was a delay and the the flight was missed.

On the way to Phuket, she saw 'numerous military troops lined up along the roads on the way'. She said: 'I don't think the situation is getting better.'

The group is also out of pocket about $450 or so each, for the flight home.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said last night it had contacted over 600 Singaporeans in Bangkok, and helped about 490 of them get out. The latest group left Bangkok for Phuket last night to catch a flight home.

About 120 Singaporeans are now left in Bangkok, including those 'who have decided to remain for various reasons', the spokesman said.

The embassy in Bangkok will continue to help stranded Singaporeans make flight and land transport arrangements, he said.

Though the main airport may re-open following thorough equipment checks, the MFA called on Singaporeans not to travel to Bangkok unless absolutely necessary.

Singapore Airlines will carry on with its two flights out of U-Tapao airport, near Pattaya, today and decide later if it will continue.

Jetstar Asia is also mounting one flight a day from U-Tapao, a 'very costly process' because of the limited infrastructure, noted chief executive officer Chong Phit Lian yesterday.

SilkAir will add two flights daily to its four or five from Phuket till Sunday. Tiger Airways will have at least four flights from Phuket today as well.

SIA also confirmed that a Boeing 777-200 plane, trapped in Bangkok when the airport was seized by protesters, returned to Singapore on Monday night without passengers.

Mr Leong said there were still Singaporeans in the Siam City Hotel when they were about to leave. One couple had been there even longer than they had.

'Our prayers go out to those left in Bangkok,' he said.

serl@sph.com.sg