AI aircraft leaves for US with passengers of flight diverted to Russia

The relief flight with an Air India team, including crew and security personnel, took off from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport here at 12.52 pm for Russian city of Krasnoyarsk

An Air India relief aircraft for passengers of its Delhi-San Francisco flight stranded at Russia's Krasnoyarsk Airport has now departed from there for the US city, the airline has said.

"The flight AI 1179 departed Krasnoyarsk (KJA) at 0002 hours local time (20 July) for San Francisco (SFO), carrying all passengers and crew of AI183 that was diverted to Krasnoyarsk," Air India said in a statement.

The airline had to divert its Delhi-San Francisco flight with 225 passengers and 19 crew members to the Russian city on Thursday after the cockpit crew detected a potential issue in the cargo hold area of the Boeing 777 aircraft.

The relief flight with an Air India team, including crew and security personnel, took off from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport here at 12.52 pm for the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk.

The ferry flight also carried on board essentials in addition to sufficient food for all passengers.

The airline said it has mobilised additional on-ground support at SFO to carry out the clearance formalities for all passengers upon arrival.

The team at SFO are prepared to provide all necessary assistance to the passengers, including but not limited to medical care, ground transportation, and onward connections in applicable cases, it stated.
 

"Air India Rescue Flight AI 1179 with passengers of AI-183 took off from Krasnoyarsk for San Francisco. The Embassy of India, Moscow thanks the Foreign Ministry of Russia and its Representative Office in Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federal Agency for Air Transport, the Krasnoyarsk Krai Government, airport authorities and security officials, for the assistance to the passengers and to Embassy's team in the coordination work throughout the emergency situation," the Indian Embassy in Moscow said in a post on X.

The Embassy had earlier on Friday morning said that an Embassy team of three senior officials and interpreters were on ground in Krasnoyarsk to assist the passengers of Air India flight to San Francisco which made an "emergency" landing at Krasnoyarsk last night.

"The team is coordinating with airport and security authorities and representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry to provide all possible assistance to the passengers. The team will stay on ground in Krasnoyarsk till Air India's replacement plane arrives and takes the passengers on their onward journey," the Embassy had said in its post.