Air India ferry flight sent from Mumbai earlier has picked up all stranded Indian passengers in Russia and is on its way to San Francisco.
The ferry flight also carried more essential items than usual in order to accommodate all stranded passengers. In a statement issued Thursday morning, the airline stated that it has mobilised additional on-ground support at the destination to ensure that all passengers’ clearance formalities are completed smoothly upon arrival.
“The team at SFO (San Francisco) is prepared to provide all necessary assistance to passengers, including but not limited to medical care, ground transportation, and onward connections in applicable cases,” the airline said Thursday morning.
On Tuesday, an Air India flight from New Delhi to San Francisco with 216 passengers and 16 crew was diverted to Magadan, Russia, due to a technical issue with one of its engines.
Air India sent a ‘ferry flight” Boeing 777 from Mumbai without any passengers to rescue the passengers in Magadan. “Our ferry flight AI195 from Mumbai (BOM) to Magadan, Russia (GDX) is now airborne, and is expected to arrive at GDX at 0630 Hours (local time) on 08 June 2023,” Air India said in a statement.
“What was to be a 14-15 hour nonstop will eventually turn out to be an almost 57-hour journey with the 39-hour stop in Magadan.” said one of the passengers.
