Mumbai. Air India has sent a relief flight from Mumbai to carry the passengers of its Delhi-San Francisco flight. These passengers have been stranded at Krasnoyarsk International Airport (KJA) in Russia since Thursday. An Air India official told PTI that the relief aircraft AI 1179 departed from Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport here at 12.52 pm and is expected to reach the airport in the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk at around 8 pm local time.
The airline said that an Air India team, including crew and security personnel, is present in the relief flight to provide any assistance to passengers and staff at the Russian airport. It has sufficient food for all passengers as well as essential items. The plane will take all passengers and crew out of the airport as soon as possible. The airline said on the social media platform ‘X’ that it has received regulatory approval for the relief flight.
The airline said that it has also set up a dedicated hotline service for information. Under this, one can contact 011 -69329301 to talk in India and +13177390126 to talk in the US. Earlier, Air India had said that regulatory approval has been obtained for the relief flight, which will depart from Mumbai to carry the passengers stranded there from Krasnoyarsk International Airport.
An Air India flight from Delhi to San Francisco was diverted to Russia’s Krasnoyarsk International Airport on Thursday after the cockpit crew noticed a problem in the cargo hold area of the Boeing 777 aircraft. Air India’s local staff were asked to assist passengers who were asked by authorities to remain in the terminal building due to lack of Russian visas. Flight number AI 183 had 225 passengers and 19 crew members on board.
The airline said that food and beverage facilities at the terminal are now open and food is being served to all passengers. The food and beverage facilities were closed in the evening. According to Air India, representatives of the Indian Consulate in Moscow are also helping and are working with Russian authorities to allow passengers to go to hotels.