Air India Delhi-San Francisco Passengers are Currently Stuck in Russia

Air India’s flight AI-183, flying from New Delhi, India, to San Francisco, USA, on July 18, 2024, was diverted to Krasnoyarsk International Airport (KJA) in Russia. The airline, posting updates on X (formerly Twitter), has stated the reason to be a “technical issue”.

AI San Fran Flight Lands in Russia

According to the airline, the aircraft landed in Russia on July 18 before 10:41 PM IST, and the authorities instantly started working to ensure that the guests were taken care of as they considered the next course of action. After further inspection, the airline revealed that the emergency landing was due to a potential issue in the cargo hold area. The aircraft, with 225 passengers and 19 flight crew, was made to land at the nearest safest option.

Since Air India has no operating staff at KJA, the airline is currently in talks to arrange third-party support to provide all the necessary assistance to the passengers and crew. In liaison with the government, agencies, and regulatory authorities, AI also made arrangements for a ferry flight to KJA to take passengers onward to San Francisco as soon as possible.

Since the passengers on board do not have Russian visas, they have been asked to stay in the terminal building for the time being as food and beverage amenities at the terminal, which were earlier closed for the day, have now been opened, and meals are being provided to the passengers. Currently, the representatives from the Indian consulate in Moscow are in talks with the Russian authorities to allow passengers to move to hotels. Regulatory clearances have also been obtained for a relief flight that departed Mumbai at 11:00 IST on July 19 to reach Russia and ferry the guests from the airport to their final destination.