Two days after making an emergency landing in Russia, passengers from Air India’s flight bound for the United States reached San Francisco on a different aircraft from Krasnoyarsk International Airport (KJA).
According to a post by Air India on X, the relief flight from the Russian airport landed in San Francisco with all the stranded passengers on board.
“We thank the DGCA, Government of India, Embassy of India in Russia, the Russian authorities, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Krasnoyarsk International Airport, and all partners involved, for their support in the situation,” the airline tweeted.
UPDATE #6: FLIGHT AI1179 ARRIVES IN SAN FRANCISCO
AI1179 landed safely in San Francisco at 2027 Hrs local time (19 July).
We thank the DGCA, Government of India, Embassy of India in Russia, the Russian authorities, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), U.S. Customs…
— Air India (@airindia) July 20, 2024
According to the airline, an Air India relief flight left the Russian airport at 12:02 am on Saturday. Following the departure, the Indian Embassy in Moscow expressed gratitude to Russia’s Foreign Ministry and other parties for their help with the stranded passengers.
Taking to X, the Indian Embassy stated, “Air India Rescue Flight AI 1179 with passengers of AI-183 took off from Krasnoyarsk for San Francisco.”.
“The Embassy of India, Moscow, thanks the Foreign Ministry of Russia and its Representative Office in Krasnoyarsk, the Russian Federal Agency for Air Transport, the Krasnoyarsk Krai Government, airport authorities, and security officials for their assistance to the passengers and to the Embassy’s team in the coordination work throughout the emergency situation,” the Embassy added.
Earlier on Friday, Air India received regulatory approval for a relief flight from Mumbai to transport the US-bound passengers who were stranded at Krasnoyarsk International Airport (KJA). The airline mentioned that the flight was equipped with essentials and ample food for all the stranded passengers.
The San Francisco-bound Air India flight, originally departing from Delhi, was diverted to Russia on Thursday after the crew identified a potential issue in the cargo hold area.