Chinese emergency chartered flights are expected to fly back home almost all the more than 3,000 mainland tourists stuck in riot-hit Thailand by Dec. 1.

Four Chinese mainland carriers have sent nine planes to retrieve the tourists after Bangkok's international airport closed because of a protest.

Some 2,000 tourists had returned back home by noon, and another more than 800 would fly back late Sunday night or early Monday morning, according to the airlines.

China Southern Airlines, the nation's largest carrier by fleet size, said late Sunday night it will sent another plane to take back the remaining tourists on Monday.

Around 246 passengers landed in Shanghai at 2:00 a.m. on Sunday. This was the first return flight from Thailand, though delayed for several hours because of unstable situation at the airport.

(Xinhua News Agency December 1, 2008)