Air India flight makes emergency stop in Siberia

Boeing 777 from Delhi to San Francisco diverted for precautionary landing; replacement flight arranged

NEW DELHI:

An Air India Boeing 777 en route from Delhi to San Francisco made an unscheduled landing in Siberia on Friday after the crew detected a potential issue in the cargo hold area. The precautionary landing at Krasnoyarsk International Airport was the second such incident involving Air India on this route in just over a year.

Despite many airlines avoiding Russian airspace due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, Air India continues to fly over Russia, benefiting from reduced flight times and costs on its US routes. The aircraft, which had 225 passengers and 19 crew members on board, landed safely, and arrangements are being made for a replacement flight to continue the journey to San Francisco.

Russia's civil aviation authority, Rosaviatsiya, reported that the plane had no signs of fire or smoke upon landing and was parked safely. The incident comes amid broader disruptions in international air travel, with many airlines rerouting flights to avoid Russian airspace following Moscow's retaliatory bans and the impact of Western sanctions.

This incident follows a similar unscheduled landing by an Air India flight on the same route in June 2023, where passengers were stranded for a day at Russia's remote Magadan airport due to a technical issue. In that case, Air India arranged for a replacement aircraft to collect the stranded passengers.

According to Krasnoyarsk International Airport, the flight was diverted due to an activated smoke detector. A replacement aircraft with Air India staff from Delhi is expected to arrive around 2 p.m. local time (0700 GMT), as per preliminary information. Boeing and the US State Department have directed inquiries to Air India for further comment on the situation.