Air India sending replacement flight ‘with food, essentials’ for passengers stuck in Russia

Air India will send a replacement plane to ferry 216 passengers and 16 crew members stranded in Russia’s Magadan after their Delhi-San Francisco flight experienced engine trouble and was forced to land, according to the national carrier.

The replacement flight will depart from Mumbai at around 1 p.m. “subject to necessary regulatory clearances,” and “will carry food and other essentials for our passengers,” according to an Air India statement issued Wednesday morning.

Air India also stated that due to limited infrastructure at and around the airport in Magadan, which is located on Russia’s eastern coast and more than 10,000 kilometers from the capital Moscow, stranded passengers had been moved to “make shift accommodation after making sincere attempts to accommodate passengers in hotels locally.”

“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…” Air India said.

The airline also stated that it is collaborating with the Consulate General of India in Vladivostok (about 4,900 kilometers from Magadan), the Russian Foreign Ministry, Russian authorities, and local officials.

The plane is scheduled to land early Thursday morning, according to the Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia.

Civil aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia is closely monitoring the situation, the ministry said this morning, adding that it is in constant contact with the airline. The ministry also stated that AI informed it that some passengers were being housed in a school building near the airport.