New Delhi: A video footage has surfaced on Twitter showing stranded Air India passengers forced to sleep on the floor of a school after their San Francisco-bound flight was diverted to Magadan in Russia due to a techincal snag.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia said that the alternate flight was dispatched for the Magadan airport from Mumbai around 1pm and it will take six hours to reach there.
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“Once the flight reaches, the passengers will be flown to their destination which is San Francisco,” he said.
On Tuesday Air India flight AI173, from Delhi to San Francisco, was forced to divert and make an emergency landing at Magadan airport in Russia due to a technical issue with one of its engines, officials said.
The Air India spokesperson said that the ferry flight is carrying food and other essentials for our passengers.
“All of us at Air India are concerned about the passengers and staff and are making every effort possible to operate the ferry flight as soon as possible, and to ensure the health, safety, and security of all while they wait,” said the airline in a statement issued on Wednesday.
“As we do not have any Air India staff based in the remote town of Magadan or in Russia, all ground support being provided to the passengers is the best possible in this unusual circumstance through our round the clock liaison with the Consulate General of India in Vladivostok, Ministry of External Affairs (Government of India), local ground handlers, and the Russian authorities,” it added.
The 216 passengers and 16 crew on board Tuesday’s flight had been moved to makeshift accommodation, given infrastructure limitations at the remote Magadan airport, the airline said in a statement.
Questions raised
The diversion raised questions over how quickly the $200 million US-built plane, whose engines are made by General Electric, could be repaired amid US and European Union sanctions on exports of aviation items to Russia.
“That plane needs to be repaired, mechanics are going on board,” Scindia, said, referring to the flight going out to pick up the stranded passengers.
A source at the Magadan airport told Reuters that Air India engineers would arrive on the reserve plane with spare parts.
A stranded passenger named Gagan told Indian broadcaster NDTV there were many US citizens on the flight who were worried, given the tension between Russia and the United States.
“There are a lot a nervous people here,” the passenger said.
Air India did not immediately respond to a request for information on the passengers’ nationalities.
US State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel had said on Tuesday it was “likely” there were Americans onboard given the flight’s destination.
Angry passengers took to Twitter to complain about inadequate supply of food at their accommodation, which they said looked like a school.
One user said his mother had been given tea, bread and some rice on Tuesday but there was later no contact as she wanted to save her phone battery as there was only one power outlet.
Air India said as it did not have any staff in Russia and the support being provided to the passengers was “the best possible in this unusual circumstance”.
“The ferry flight would be carrying food and other essentials for our passengers,” the airline said.
“All of us at Air India are ... making every effort possible to operate the ferry flight as soon as possible, and to ensure the health, safety, and security of all while they wait.”
