Sixty-one passengers were flown out of Israel on a plane the Government of the Kingdom of Tonga chartered to safely evacuate Tongan nationals from Israel on Saturday evening 14 October.
The Tongans were part of tour groups from Tonga and New Zealand who were on tour of Israel. But then the war between Israel and Hamas broke out, cancelling normal flight plans in and out of the war-torn country.
Of the groups from Tonga, five were flown out earlier in the week back to Tonga via Malaysia. They had to deal with higher airfares, which they could afford, to be able to get out of Israel.
But the Tonga government got involved and sent in an official from the Tongan High Commission Office in London, to organize the chartered flight for the Tongan nationals.
Major Kiu Tu’ivakano in coordination with the Prime Minister’s Office as well as the Office of Foreign Affairs was able to ensure the safe departure of the Tongans out of Israel.
Touring Israel is one of the most popular tours for Tongans, as most regard the tours as a significant religious experience for them.
But this year’s tours were interrupted by the breakout of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Fijians who were on tour in Israel at the time were also flown out earlier in the week in a Fiji government chartered flight with Fiji Airways. There were 198 Fijians on that flight home.
