'In the spirit of solidarity': S'poreans return from Jeddah in 2nd evacuation flight, remaining seats offered to other nationals

The second repatriation flight deployed to evacuate Singaporeans stranded in the Middle East, arrived in Singapore from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Mar. 13 at 5:59am.

In a news release by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF), the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) plane brought 81 Singaporeans & their dependents home.

42 of whom were students returning from Jordan, said Senior Minister of State for Home Affairs and acting Minister-in-charge of Muslim Affairs Faishal Ibrahim in a media doorstop. 

In total, the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) has successfully completed repatriation operations of 299 Singaporeans from the Middle East over two repatriation flights.

42 students from Jordan evacuated

Faishal said he spoke with some of the Muslim students studying in Islamic universities, and many shared their concerns, and some explained their choices to remain.

He said that as developments on the ground remain dynamic, cross-agency support has been rendered to those who need assistance.

Faishal said that some of these students have returned home for their safety and that for many, "this was not an easy choice".

"Some have only just begun, while others are in their final semester and were close to completing their studies."

He said that the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) will be engaging the students to provide assistance, which includes liaising with universities to explore study arrangements and counselling support.

He added that those who chose to remain are all safe.

Student Liaison Officers and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) will continue engagements to offer support and reassurance, said Faishal.

Nightly sirens and missiles

One of the 42 students repatriated from Jordan through Jeddah spoke to Mothership, saying, "I feel thankful because initially we thought we had no chance to come back".

According to the student, "the missiles kept flying over, and the sirens became more frequent".

When asked about her evacuation, she mentioned her 24-hour bus journey from Jordan to Jeddah.

She said, "We thought it would be longer, but we had pit stops and breaks."

"It was all planned perfectly, so we didn't feel it to be so draining."

S'poreans prioritised and remaining seats offered to foreign nationals

MINDEF said that after prioritising and catering for Singaporeans who registered, available seats were offered to nationals from Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Vietnam.

"This is in the spirit of solidarity, just as how other countries have assisted Singaporeans in returning home in past crises."

At the media doorstop, Minister of State for Defence, Desmond Choo, thanked RSAF and MFA officers and all those who made the mission possible.

Choo called the successful mission a "huge sense of relief and encouragement that all our Singaporeans came back home safely".

Singapore had also previously mounted two other repatriation flights under the MFA on Mar. 7 and 8.

A flight for foreign visitors affected by airspace disruptions was also organised on Mar. 8 by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB).

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Top photo from Mothership