Air India flight AI-173, carrying 216 passengers and 16 crew members, was on Tuesday forced to land at an airport in Russia’s Far East owing to some engine snag. The flight, being operational from Delhi to San Francisco, had developed a technical issue with one of its engines and it was diverted to land at Magadan. Air India sent a reserve aircraft on Wednesday, carrying food and other essentials for the passengers stranded there.
Here are six points that unveil the incident and further development.
Air India ferry flight takes off for Russia
Air India ferry flight finally took off from here for Magadan in far east Russia at around 1520 hours on Wednesday to fly its 216 San Francisco-bound passengers stranded in the port city since Tuesday. The airline said the aircraft operating the ferry flight will take all passengers and crew onward to San Francisco on June 8. The replacement aircraft was scheduled to depart at 1300 hours (IST) from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport on Wednesday. “Our ferry flight AI195 from Mumbai (BOM) to Magadan, Russia (GDX) is now airborne, and is expected to arrive at GDX at 0630 Hours (local time) on 08 June 2023,” Air India said in a statement, reported PTI.
Possible support to passengers: Tata
The Tata Group airline said that all passengers were shifted to makeshift accommodation in Russia’s Magadan. As per the videos appeared on social media, it looks like the stranded passengers seem to be waiting at a local school. The airline said that passengers have been provided all the best possible support through round-the-clock liaison with the Russian authorities, locals, Ministry of External Affairs (Government of India), and the Consulate General of India in Vladivostok, reported IE.
Ministry keeping close eye
According to sources in the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has kept close eyes on the ongoing situation and the ministry is in touch with Air India to take stock of the situation.
US monitoring situation
As the flight was bound for the United States, it is likely that there were American citizens on board. Keeping in view its strained relationship with Russia, the United States has said that it is closely monitoring the situation. US State Department’s Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told journalists in Washington, reported by IE: “we are aware of a US-bound flight that had to make an emergency landing in Russia and are continuing to monitor that situation closely. I’m not able to confirm how many US citizens were aboard the flight at this time…”
Know about Magadan
Magadan falls under the administrative unit of Magadan Oblast. It is located in northeastern Russia near the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk. By air, it takes around seven hours to reach Magadan from Moscow. The city was founded in 1993 as a supply center for Kolyma goldfields. The city houses industries, research institutes, various shops, transport and mining equipment.
Russian airspace into the spotlight
The diversion of a US-built Air India jetliner to Russia with engine problems has thrust tensions surrounding Russian airspace into the spotlight – just a day after the head of a major American carrier predicted an almost identical scenario. A global industry meeting ended on Tuesday with carriers at odds over the use of Russia as a pivotal crossing point in the global air transport network, with United Airlines citing trade concerns but India’s flag carrier defending it, reported Reuters.
A Russian ban on some foreign carriers using its airspace, in retaliation for Western sanctions over the Ukraine war, has redrawn air routes and upset business models for some airlines that now need to fly around the world’s largest country.