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AI flight takes off from Russia’s Magadan to SFO with 216 stranded passengers
Air India said it has mobilised additional on-ground support at San Francisco to carry out the clearance formalities for all passengers upon arrival
An Air India flight took off from Russia’s Magadan to San Francisco on the west coast of the US with 216 passengers on board two days after they were left stranded in the remote Russian town following an emergency landing due to a technical fault, the airline said.
“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] on 08 June 2023 (local time),” said Air India in a statement.
It added Air India has mobilised additional on-ground support at SFO to carry out the clearance formalities for all passengers upon arrival. “The team at SFO is prepared to provide all necessary assistance to the passengers, including but not limited to medical care, ground transportation, and onward connections in applicable cases.”
A ferry flight earlier took off from Mumbai around 3.30pm on Wednesday and reached Sokol airport in Magadan by midnight.
On Tuesday, flight AI 173 departed from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport at 4.20am. It was scheduled to reach San Francisco at 7pm local time. The aircraft landed at Sokol airport at 1.30pm after it developed a technical snag in one of its engines.
Air India on Wednesday said a team of the airline flew from Mumbai to support the passengers and staff at Magadan. It carried essentials in addition to food to cater to passengers on the onward flight to San Francisco. The flying time of Boeing 777-200 from Mumbai was around six-and-a-half hours.
The Tata Group-owned Air India did not have any staff in Magadan or in Russia. It took the assistance of Rossiya Airlines – one of the oldest and largest air carriers of the Russian Federation.
The stranded passengers were moved to a school near the airport. Russia state-owned news agency Sputnik quoted transport minister of Magadan region Aleksey Siorpas saying women with children and pregnant women were accommodated in the dormitory of a medical college.
The US was also “closely monitoring” the situation keeping in mind American citizens among those stranded. The stranded passengers complained of a lack of amenities.
Air India officials said that all support was provided to the passengers in the best possible manner through round-the-clock liaison with the ministry of external affairs, the consulate general of India in Vladivostok, and Russian authorities. The airline also activated a hotline number to address queries in the matter.
The aircraft landed in rural Siberia after flying two hours away from the intended route. Magadan has no five-star hotels and this prompted the airline to make arrangements for the passengers in the school.
