Stranded Passengers In Russia: Air India Sending Plane With Food, Essentials

New Delhi: After several hours, there is good news for 216 passengers and 16 crew members of a San Francisco-bound Air India flight which has been stranded in Russia since Tuesday.

The Boeing 777 plane was forced to land in Magadan — located in Russia’s eastern coast — as one of its engines developed a technical glitch and is undergoing security checks.

The national carrier announced on Wednesday that it will be sending a replacement aircraft to ferry the stranded passengers and crew to San Francisco.

The plane will depart from Mumbai, subject to necessary regulatory clearances, at around 1 pm and will carry food and other essentials for passengers, Air India said in a statement.

Because of limited infrastructure at and around the airport in Magadan, stranded passengers had been moved to “makeshift accommodation after making sincere attempts to accommodate passengers in hotels locally,” Air India stated.

“As we do not have Air India staff based in the remote town of Magadan or in Russia, all ground support being provided to passengers is the best possible in this unusual circumstance,” the national carrier informed, adding that it is coordinating with Consulate General of India in Vladivostok (around 4,900 km from Magadan), External Affairs ministry, Russian authorities and local officials.

Union Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia is tracking the situation very closely and is in constant touch with the airline,” the ministry said.