Air India passengers flying to San Francisco end up in Siberia

An Air India plane flying from India to the United States requested an emergency landing and landed at Krasnoyarsk airport in Siberia on Thursday, July 18. More than two hundred foreign citizens accidentally ended up in Russia and faced a number of problems.

The aircraft requested an emergency landing after a fire alarm in the cargo compartment. The Boeing 777 of Air India was flying at an altitude of about 11 kilometres at the time of the incident. The aircraft commander reported the incident to dispatchers in Krasnoyarsk and decided to make an emergency landing at the airport of the Russian city. The airliner landed safely at Krasnoyarsk's Dmitry Hvorostovsky International Airport.

According to the press secretary of the Federal Air Transport Agency Artem Korenyako, there were 243 passengers on board. He also said that there were no signs of fire or smoke on board the plane.

After the incident, Air India said it would send a reserve flight to pick up the passengers from Krasnoyarsk. However, the arrival of the reserve flight was delayed for four hours. As a result, the foreigners were stuck in the Russian city for almost the entire day.

Foreign passengers of the aircraft were provided with food that was made especially for them since most of the passengers turned out to be vegetarians.

The Boeing 777 passengers were accommodated in the terminal building. Due to the fact that they did not have Russian visas, a local support service was involved. Air India said that diplomats from the Indian Embassy in Russia arrived in Krasnoyarsk. The Indian diplomats, together with their Russian colleagues work to ensure that passengers can be accommodated at hotels.

The foreign passengers who landed in Krasnoyarsk have problems paying at the airport. They have access to airport's duty-free shops, but their bank cards do not work in the Russian system. However, they can purchase duty free items using cash.

A similar incident occurred to Air India flight in 2023

This is not the first time that foreigners suddenly find themselves in Russia instead of their final destination. A similar situation occurred about a year ago on board an Air India flight. In June 2023, the flight was flying from Delhi to San Francisco when the system reported a malfunction in the right engine. The Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft made an emergency landing in Magadan. There were 220 passengers on board. The foreign passengers were accommodated at hotels. They had to wait 39 hours in the Russian city before continuing on Air India's reserve flight.