Air India flight diverted to Russian city: Indian embassy officials on ground to aid passengers

Moscow: Three senior officials and an interpreter from the Indian Embassy in Moscow are on the ground in Krasnoyarsk to assist passengers of an Air India flight that made an emergency landing in the Siberian city on Thursday night. The flight, en route from Delhi to San Francisco, diverted to Krasnoyarsk International Airport (UNKL) due to a technical issue, making a precautionary landing around midnight.

The embassy team is working closely with airport and security authorities and representatives from the Russian Foreign Ministry to provide all possible assistance to the passengers. They will remain in Krasnoyarsk until Air India's replacement plane arrives to continue the passengers' journey.

In the meantime, a ferry flight from Mumbai to Krasnoyarsk is now airborne and is expected to land on Friday evening. "An Air India team, including crew and security personnel, are on board the flight to provide any support that the passengers and staff at Krasnoyarsk may require," Air India mentioned in a post on X. The ferry flight is carrying essentials and sufficient food for all passengers and will evacuate both passengers and crew from the Russian airport as soon as possible.

A dedicated hotline has been set up for the families, relatives, and friends of the flight's passengers. Representatives from the Indian Consulate in Moscow travelled overnight to work with Russian authorities, facilitating the movement of passengers to hotels that have been on standby throughout the night.

Regulatory clearances for the relief flight were obtained, and the flight has since departed from Mumbai.

Earlier today, Air India said that the aircraft landed safely at Krasnoyarsk International Airport (KJA) with all 225 passengers and 19 members of the flight crew, who have now disembarked and have been taken to the terminal building for further processes. "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," the airline stated.

IANS