Ninety overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) from the United Arab Emirates touched down safely in the Philippines Sunday night, returning home amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

The group arrived at NAIA Terminal 3 at 9:40 p.m. aboard Emirates Airlines flight EK336 and were greeted by officials and relief staff who were ready to assist them.

Of the 90 repatriates, 33 were sponsored by the government, according to Migrant Workers Secretary Hans Leo Cacdac. Some of the returning OFWs had earlier booked tickets to come home, while others were stranded due to flight disruptions caused by the regional unrest.

“We’re welcoming them. This flight is no different, especially in the context of the current conflict in the Middle East. And we welcome those who had a hard time coming home or were stranded, or were worried about whether they would come home or not. So finally, they are here,” Cacdac said in a press briefing at NAIA.

The DMW chief added that all OFWs received assistance from the government, both before and after repatriation.

“Many of them still had their tickets with them — those who canceled previous flights or had bookings prior to this flight. But 33 of them were sponsored by the DMW and OWWA. Now, for everybody, we gave either pre-repatriation assistance and most of them post-repatriation assistance,” he said.