216 Stranded Passengers Board Air India Flight From Russia's Magadan To SFO
Update: 2023-06-08 11:30 IST
The airline reported that an Air India flight took off from Magadan, Russia, to San Francisco on the west coast of the US, with 216 passengers on board, two days after being delayed in the outlying Russian town following an emergency landing due to a mechanical fault.
In order to complete the necessary clearance procedures for all passengers upon arrival, it was stated that Air India has deployed additional on-ground assistance at SFO. The staff at SFO is ready to help travellers in any way they may require, including but not limited to medical attention, ground transportation, and onward connections as necessary.
A statement was released from Air India mentioning “The flight departed GDX [Magadan] at 1027 Hours [4:57am IST on Thursday] on 08 June 2023 (local time) and is expected to arrive at SFO [San Francisco] at 0015 Hours [12:45pm IST Friday] on 08 June 2023 (local time),” reported Hindustan Times.
On Wednesday at roughly 3.30 pm, a ferry flight left Mumbai and arrived at Magadan's Sokol airport before midnight.
Tuesday at 4.20am, Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi saw the departure of flight AI 173. San Francisco was supposed to be reached at 7 p.m. local time. A technical issue with one of the aircraft's engines caused it to make an emergency landing at Sokol airport at 1:30 p.m.
On Wednesday, Air India announced that a crew from the airline had flown from Mumbai to assist the travellers and employees in Magadan. In addition to food, it carried necessities to accommodate people for the subsequent flight to San Francisco. The Boeing 777-200 took about six and a half hours to fly from Mumbai.
There were no employees of the Air India-owned by the Tata Group in Magadan or Russia. It required the aid of Rossiya Airlines, one of the biggest and oldest airlines operating in the Russian Federation.
The stranded travellers were sent to a nearby school. Aleksey Siorpas, the transport minister for the Magadan region, was quoted by the state-run news source Sputnik as claiming that pregnant ladies and women with children were accommodated in a medical college's hostel.
The US was "closely monitoring" the situation as well, keeping in mind that some of them stuck were American citizens. The passengers who were stranded grumbled about the lack of amenities.
According to representatives of Air India, constant communication with the Russian government, the Indian consulate general in Vladivostok, and the ministry of external affairs allowed for the greatest possible help to be given to the passengers. The airline also launched a hotline to answer questions on the situation.
After deviating from the original path for two hours, the aircraft landed in a remote area of Siberia. Since there are no five-star hotels in Magadan, the airline decided to make accommodations for the students.