plane people

plane people
 n.pl.— «Currently, about 2,500 of these Vietnamese “plane people” are leaving each month under the program, refugee officials said. “This number is roughly equal to the total monthly arrivals in the region by boat people.”» —“Fewer ‘Boat People,’ Says U.N. Official Vietnam Refugees Effort ‘a Success’” by William Branigin in Bangkok, Thailand Washington Post Sept. 8, 1984. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)

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Further reading

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