The same group also fell to their knees to give thanks once they came out into the arrival hall in Terminal 2.

The church group had been stranded in Bangkok since last Wednesday when their flight from Israel was diverted from Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok to the tiny military air strip of U-Tapao.

Protestors had swarmed the airport last week, though they have since agreed to leave and let Thailand's main international airport resume operations.

Sure, some group members were at first excited that they would have an extra day or two to explore Bangkok, but when that day stretched to five days, with no end in sight, they became desperate to get home.

Some of them were running out of money, others were running out of medicine for their chronic illnesses like high blood pressure, heart disease, and diabetes.

They even explored the possibility of hopping onto a cargo ship to get back, said Mr Leong Sow Hoe, 48, the group's leader. But the ship could at best take 10 passengers.

'In a worst case scenario, we were prepared to send the old and sick back first,' he said.

When they were about to leave the Siam City hotel, where they had been holed up the past few days, there were still several Singaporeans who were unable to make travel arrangements, he said.

'Our prayers go out to those who are still stuck in Bangkok,' he said.

In a statement released on Tuesday, both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Singapore Embassy in Bangkok said they would continue to monitor the situation closely and work closely with Singapore carriers to mount additional flights to help stranded Singaporeans in Bangkok return home.

Singaporeans who were stranded are leaving Bangkok by flights out of U-Tapao Airport, as well as Phuket and Chiangmai. Several Singaporeans have made their way out of Bangkok by road and rail to Singapore. Many Singaporeans have informed the Embassy that they have reached home.

To assist the remaining stranded passengers, Singapore Airlines' two daily flights out of U-Tapao will continue until Dec 3 with a possible extension if there is demand.

SilkAir will also be mounting 13 additional flights between Singapore and Phuket between Tuesday and Sunday. These are in addition to SilkAir's regular scheduled flights on the route. It will also mount three additional flights to Chiangmai.

Tiger Airways will also continue to mount additional flights from Phuket.

MFA also reiterated its earlier advisory to Singaporeans to postpone non-essential travel to Bangkok even though there have been reports that Suvarnabhumi Airport will re-open to incoming flights.