KUALA LUMPUR: The 30 Malaysians who were evacuated from conflict-ridden Sudan were initially supposed to board a chartered flight out of the country to Cairo, Egypt.
Those plans, however, were scuppered after the authorities were unable to secure war risk insurance for the flight.
This eventually led to the Malaysians joining almost 200 other people on a Saudi Arabian navy ship to Jeddah.
The New Straits Times understands that the Malaysian Embassy in Sudan had initially drawn up plans to charter a passenger aircraft for the purpose.
The aircraft would have been used to fly the Malaysians, upon their arrival at the Port of Sudan after their 30-hour land journey from Khartoum.
It is learnt that the Malaysian authorities had already obtained diplomatic clearance for the flight for April 24 prior to its cancellation, after Sudan closed off its airspace.
It is understood the charter flight would have carried not only the Malaysians but also a number of foreign nationals from the United States, Cambodia, Singapore, Thailand and others.
However, Malaysia, via its embassy staff in Jeddah, had at the same time also worked on an alternative plan, which was to secure a spot on a Saudi navy ship for the evacuees.
With the plans for the flight no longer feasible, Malaysian authorities switched to the backup plan.
The Malaysians and 22 other foreign nationals subsequently boarded the Saudi Royal Navy vessel HMS Abha for the nine-hour voyage to Jeddah.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir on Thursday had thanked the Saudi and United Arab Emirates governments for their help in extracting the Malaysians from Sudan.
He had also expressed his gratitude to the team from the Foreign Ministry, the National Security Council, National Disaster Management Agency, the Prime Minister's Office, police, and the Malaysian missions in Riyadh, Jeddah, Abu Dhabi and Cairo.
The Malaysians will be arriving on Saudia flight SV834 at 3.55pm at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 1 today.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is expected to be on hand to welcome them home.
The situation in Sudan began escalating two weeks ago when clashes broke out between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF).
The New Straits Times had on April 15 reported how a number of Malaysians had been trapped in the Petronas Sudan Complex in Khartoum when fighting broke out.
The complex has since been taken over by paramilitary forces due to its proximity to a military base.