Russia is preparing to permit Air India to land a reserve plane in Russia’s Far East after one of its planes flying from Delhi to San Francisco was forced to divert and land at Magadan airport, as reported by Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia on Tuesday.
Overview
The Air India plane, a Boeing 777 carrying 216 passengers and 16 crew members, landed safely on Tuesday at Russia’s Magadan airport in the country’s far east, as stated by Air India.
The flight “developed a technical issue with one of its engines,” the airline said in its statement, adding that the aircraft was conducting safety inspections and passengers were receiving assistance on the ground. Air India noted that passengers will be provided with an alternate route for reaching their destination at the earliest.
Air India flight en route to San Francisco makes an emergency landing in Russia. The flight landed safely in Russia and arrangements were made for passengers to reach their destinations safely. @AruneelS shares more details with @prathibhatweets pic.twitter.com/ODsWmx23Fs
— TIMES NOW (@TimesNow) June 6, 2023
Air India announced on Wednesday that a reserve plane would depart from Mumbai and head to Magadan in Russia, carrying food and other essentials for passengers stranded there.
Russia’s aviation authority stated that it was inspecting the plane’s technical condition and had granted clearance for the alternate flight to land. “At present, the question of passengers’ stay and accommodation is being resolved by border, customs and regional authorities,” Rosaviatsia confirmed.
US Monitoring the Situation
Vedant Patel, a US State Department spokesperson, said, “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.” While Patel could not confirm the exact number of US citizens on board, he confirmed that it was “of course likely that there are American citizens on board.”
Additionally, Patel stated that the US might take action if necessary “to assess manifests and passengers who may be bound for the United States.” Patel did not clarify whether the US must exclude replacement plane parts from Russian sanctions.
The #US has said that it is continuing to closely monitor the situation after a San Francisco-bound @airindia flight AI173 made an emergency landing in #Russia. The flight with 216 passengers and 16 crew landed safely.https://t.co/JWpd4qeMiv pic.twitter.com/O8V7NGJoli
— Khaleej Times (@khaleejtimes) June 7, 2023
The diversion of the Boeing (BA.N) 777 widebody aircraft comes amid a global discussion about the use of Russian airspace by some airlines.
On Monday, Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, asserted, “What’s going to happen if an airline lands in Russia with some prominent US citizens on board? That is a potential crisis in the making.”
In response to Washington’s restrictions on Russian aircraft flying over the US in March 2022, Russia has prohibited US and other foreign airlines from using its airspace.
However, Air India, and Gulf, Chinese, and African carriers in particular, continue to fly through Russia, shortening flight times and rendering American competitors uncompetitive.
On Monday, the CEO of Air India defended the airline’s use of Russian airspace, saying, “We operate in accordance with the ambit of what’s provided to us by the nation of India.”
He indicated that “Not all nations agree. And so there are going to be different outcomes as a consequence. I think we’ve seen over the past few years the consequence of aviation not being able to connect people and economies and cultures and support all of the other things that we spin off.”