Planes to spring Spaniards home from Thailand

Spain is to send planes to repatriate more than 500 Spaniards stranded in Thailand due to the closure of Bangkok’s airports.

In a statement today the Foreign Ministry said Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero co-ordinated the operation with the foreign and defence ministries.

Two air force aircraft and one plane belonging to airline Iberworld are to fly to Thailand “as soon as possible,” the statement said. It did not specify where they will land.

State broadcaster TVE cites Spain’s ambassador in Thailand, Juan Manuel Lopez Nadal, as saying the evacuation could begin tomorrow.

Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi international airport has been overrun by political demonstrators since Tuesday.