• Source:JND
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An Air India flight operating from New Delhi to San Francisco was diverted to Krasnoyarsk International Airport (UNKL) in Russia due to a technical glitch on Thursday night. The airline on Friday said all the passengers onboard the flight were safe and are being provided all necessary assistance. The airline also said that it is operating a relief flight from Mumbai to fly US-bound flight passengers who were stranded at Krasnoyarsk International Airport (KJA).

Air India's relief flight has departed from Mumbai after getting the regulatory clearance, and will reach Russia's Krasnoyarsk International Airport at 8 pm today, the airline stated. "An Air India team, including crew and security personnel, are on board the flight to provide any support that the passengers and staff at KJA may require. The ferry flight carries essentials in addition to a sufficient amount of food for all passengers. The aircraft will ferry all passengers and crew out of KJA at the earliest," the airline tweeted.

According to the airline, the cockpit crew of aircraft AI183 noticed a potential issue in the cargo hold area, therefore they made a precautionary landing at Krasnoyarsk International Airport in the Russian Krasnoyarsk Krai.

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The flight was reportedly carrying as many as 225 passengers and 19 members of the flight crew. Air India said that all the passengers were taken to the terminal building for further processing. The airline also said that since Air India does not have its own at Krasnoyarsk International Airport, it is arranging for third-party support to provide all necessary help to the passengers. 

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, the airline said, “As Air India does not have its own staff at KJA, we are arranging for third-party support to provide all necessary assistance to passengers. Air India is also in liaison with government agencies and regulatory authorities, and we are making arrangements for a ferry flight to KJA to take passengers onwards to San Francisco at the earliest.”

“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. We will share further updates as soon as they are available,” it further added. 

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In a similar incident last year, an Air India flight on the same route had to be diverted to the remote Russian town of Magadan due to technical issues. The airline was carrying  216 passengers and 16 crew at the time. Following this, the passengers were shifted to makeshift accommodation in a school, where they remained for two days.