A total of 265 Russians and “6 foreign citizens” boarded Aeroflot Fight SU275 bound for Moscow at 11:04am, reported the Phuket Consulate-General of the Russian Federation.
As is now tradition, the passengers were seen off at the departure terminal by airport staff, immigration police and health officials, holding cards spelling out the message “See you again” in Russian language.
In marking the departure of more Russian nationals flying home on July 16, the Phuket Consulate-General of the Russian Federation noted that since the beginning of April, more than 1,500 people had flown out of Phuket on specially organised flights to various regions of Russia.
The total number of specially arranged repatriation flights carried out from Thailand, according to the Russian Embassy in Bangkok, at that time was given as 42.
In total, more than 9,000 Russian nationals have been flown home during the COVID-19 crisis, the embassy noted.