Following a lengthy ordeal due to an engine failure, a replacement Air India plane has safely arrived in San Francisco, with all of its passengers and crew.
The original Boeing 777, left New Delhi carrying 216 passengers and 16 crew members, but was grounded after low oil pressure was detected in one engine. “Out of caution (the pilots) elected to land the aircraft at a nearby airport rather than continue the journey,” the airline said in a statement.
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The plane landed in Magadan airport in Siberia on Tuesday. One passenger, 16-year-old Girvaan Singh Kahma, who was traveling with his uncle and brother, have said they were unable to leave the Magadan hotel, and that their credit cards were frozen due to sanctions against Russia, owing to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
The move to land in Russia has been met with criticism. While American, European and Japanese airlines have stopped flying over Russia, Air India has not altered their flight routes amid the ongoing Ukraine invasion.
Eventually, a replacement plane arrived in San Francisco. The airline said that it will fully refund passengers, and also give them vouchers for future travel on Air India. Fewer than 50 U.S. citizens were on the flight, according to State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel.
“Air India said in a statement that the plane landed safely and local airport authorities “extended all cooperation and support upon the flight’s arrival.
“Air India thanks government agencies, regulatory authorities, our staff and partners involved in supporting our endeavor to bring our passengers to SFO as soon as possible and in providing them care while they waited in Magadan, Russia,” the airline added.
It also stated via Twitter that “We truly apologize for all the inconvenience caused.”
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