The relief flight carries essential supplies and will transport all passengers and crew back as soon as possible.

A day after an emergency landing in Russia, Air India announced on Friday that it is operating a relief flight from Mumbai to transport US-bound passengers stranded at Krasnoyarsk International Airport (KJA).

With regulatory clearance obtained, Air India's relief flight has departed from Mumbai and is expected to arrive at Krasnoyarsk International Airport by 8 pm today, the airline reported.

An Air India team, including crew and security personnel, is on board the flight to provide any necessary support to passengers and staff at KJA. The relief flight is equipped with essential supplies and sufficient food for all passengers. The aircraft will transport all passengers and crew from KJA as soon as possible, the airline tweeted.

Air India has provided helpline numbers for relatives of the stranded passengers: India - 011 - 69329301, and USA - +13177390126.

The San Francisco-bound Air India flight from Delhi was diverted to Russia on Thursday due to a potential issue detected in the cargo hold area.

The airline stated that Air India's local support team had been activated to assist stranded passengers, who were required by authorities to remain in the terminal building due to the lack of Russian visas.

Food and beverage services at the terminal, which were closed for the evening, have now reopened, and meals are being provided to all passengers, Air India stated.

However, one of the stranded passengers refuted the airline's claims, stating, No food, information, or updates have been provided to us. We feel stranded at the airport. The passenger posted on social media, expressing frustration and lack of care.

A total of 225 passengers and 19 crew members were on board the flight. Earlier in June, an Air India flight bound for London received a bomb threat, but no explosives were found. Authorities arrested a man suspected of making the threatening call, according to a Cochin International Airport spokesperson.

KRASNOYARSK, July 19. /TASS/. An alternate aircraft of Air India is expected to arrive in Krasnoyarsk, where the airplane en route from New Delhi to San Francisco made an emergency landing, at 10:00 a.m. Moscow time [07:00 a.m. GMT], the Krasnoyarsk International Airport said.

The Boeing 777 of Air India, which made the emergency landing in the Krasnoyarsk International Airport due to activated smoke detector on board, will not depart in the near time to San Francisco. According to preliminary information, the alternate aircraft is expected to fly together with the airline's technical staff from New Delhi with landing at about 02:00 p.m. Krasnoyarsk time [07:00 a.m. GMT - TASS], the airport said.

Passengers are in the international departures area, with food and beverages available for them, the airport added.

NEW DELHI: An Air India airplane flying from Delhi to San Francisco made an emergency landing in Russia after the crew detected a potential issue in the cargo hold area, the airline said on Friday, its second such incident on the route in just over a year.

Many carriers, including US and European Union airlines, avoid Russian airspace following the war in Ukraine, but Air India uses that route, giving it a flying time and cost advantage on US-bound flights.

The Boeing 777 aircraft, carrying 225 passengers and 19 flight crew, made a precautionary landing safely in the Russian region of Siberia at the Krasnoyarsk International Airport, the airline said in a statement.

It added Air India was concerned about the passengers and staff and are making every effort possible to operate the ferry flight as soon as possible.

The airport said the flight's crew had been moved to hotels, and passengers were in the international departure area, which angered some of those stranded, according to social media posts.

Mayank Gupta, whose mother was on the flight, wrote on X he was sad and angry that her medicines and luggage remained on the airplane.

A passenger said on X that people were struggling to get food and water, posting a photo showing some passengers sleeping on the floor inside the airport area.

In another statement on Friday, Air India said representatives from the Indian consulate in Moscow traveled to Krasnoyarsk overnight and are working with Russian authorities to allow passengers to move to hotels, which have been on standby throughout the night.

The airport said the plane landed due to an activated smoke detector. Regulatory clearances have been obtained for a relief flight that will depart Mumbai at 11 a.m. India time (0530 GMT) on Friday and ferry the guests out of the airport, Air India said.

Shortly after the incident, Russia's civil aviation agency, Rosaviatsiya, said the aircraft had taxied to a parking spot after landing and there had been no signs of a fire or smoke onboard.

Boeing and a spokesperson for the US State Department deferred to Air India for comment on the incident.

Russia banned many foreign carriers from its airspace in retaliation for Western sanctions over the Ukraine war, and many countries and airlines also banned their planes from crossing over all or part of Russia.

The bans have redrawn air routes and upset business models for some airlines that now need to fly around the world's largest country. United Airlines canceled many of its non-stop US-India flights due to the issue.

In June 2023, an Air India Boeing plane on the same route was stranded for a day after reporting a technical issue. Passengers on that flight, including US citizens, were housed in makeshift accommodation at Russia's remote Magadan airport. Air India sent an aircraft a day later to pick up the stranded passengers.

Air India passengers flying to San Francisco end up in Siberia An Air India plane flying from India to the United States requested an emergency landing and landed at Krasnoyarsk airport in Siberia on Thursday, July 18. More than two hundred foreign citizens accidentally ended up in Russia and faced a number of problems.

The aircraft requested an emergency landing after a fire alarm in the cargo compartment. The Boeing 777 of Air India was flying at an altitude of about 11 kilometres at the time of the incident. The aircraft commander reported the incident to dispatchers in Krasnoyarsk and decided to make an emergency landing at the airport of the Russian city. The airliner landed safely at Krasnoyarsk's Dmitry Hvorostovsky International Airport.

According to the press secretary of the Federal Air Transport Agency Artem Korenyako, there were 243 passengers on board. He also said that there were no signs of fire or smoke on board the plane.

After the incident, Air India said it would send a reserve flight to pick up the passengers from Krasnoyarsk. However, the arrival of the reserve flight was delayed for four hours. As a result, the foreigners were stuck in the Russian city for almost the entire day.

Foreign passengers of the aircraft were provided with food that was made especially for them since most of the passengers turned out to be vegetarians.

The Boeing 777 passengers were accommodated in the terminal building. Due to the fact that they did not have Russian visas, a local support service was involved. Air India said that diplomats from the Indian Embassy in Russia arrived in Krasnoyarsk. The Indian diplomats, together with their Russian colleagues work to ensure that passengers can be accommodated at hotels.

The foreign passengers who landed in Krasnoyarsk have problems paying at the airport. They have access to airport's duty-free shops, but their bank cards do not work in the Russian system. However, they can purchase duty free items using cash.

This is not the first time that foreigners suddenly find themselves in Russia instead of their final destination. A similar situation occurred about a year ago on board an Air India flight. In June 2023, the flight was flying from Delhi to San Francisco when the system reported a malfunction in the right engine. The Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft made an emergency landing in Magadan. There were 220 passengers on board. The foreign passengers were accommodated at hotels. They had to wait 39 hours in the Russian city before continuing on Air India's reserve flight.

New Delhi: An Air India operating from Delhi to San Francisco made a precautionary landing at Krasnoyarsk International Airport in Russia after the cockpit crew detected a potential issue in the cargo hold area, the airline said in a statement, adding that efforts are on to arrange ferry flight for stranded passengers.

Air India flight AI-183 operating Delhi to San Francisco has been diverted to Krasnoyarsk International Airport... due to a technical reason. The aircraft has landed safely and we are working with relevant authorities to ensure guests are taken care of while we decide the next course of action... the airline said in a statement posted late Thursday on social media platform X.

In another update on early Friday, 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.