Delhi-San Francisco Air India flight diverted to Russia after 'technical issue', US says closley monitoring

A United States-bound Air India flight which took off from the Indian capital city, Delhi was diverted to Russia, on Tuesday (June 6) after it developed a “technical issue” in one of the engines, a spokesperson from the airline. The Air India flight AI173 was reported to have safely landed in the Russian town of Magadan.

The incident also comes a dayUnited Airlines CEO had raised concerns about flights using Russian airspace with American citizens on board, a decision which was defended by the Air India chief.

Air India about the incident

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The flight in question which took off from Delhi and was headed to San Francisco was carrying 216 passengers and 16 crew. “The passengers are being provided support on the ground and will be provided an alternate option to reach their destination at the earliest,” said Air India, in a statement.

It added, “The aircraft is undergoing mandatory checks on the ground. We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused to the passengers.” Hours after the diversion, Air India confirmed that it would send an alternative aircraft from Magadan to San Francisco for passengers who are currently accommodated in local hotels in the Russian town.

Washington reacts

The United States on Tuesday said it is closely monitoring the situation. "We are aware of a US-bound flight that had to make an emergency landing in Russia and are continuing to monitor that situation closely. I'm not able to confirm how many US citizens were aboard the flight at this time," State Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters at his daily news conference.

"It was a flight that was bound for the United States. So, it is, of course, likely that there are American citizens on board. There's public reporting from Air India that they are sending – what my understanding is – a replacement aircraft to the destination to have the passengers carry on for their route, but I would defer to the air carrier to speak to anything further on this," Patel said in response to a question.

Russian aviation authority deals with passengers

Russia had earlier said that it was ready to give permission to the Indian airline to land an additional reserve aircraft if needed in the country’s Far East, said Russian aviation authority Rosaviatsia. It also reported 220 passengers and 16 crew on board while Air India has said there were 216 passengers.

Rosaviatsia also said that they are checking on the aircraft's technical condition. “At present, the question of passengers' stay and accommodation is being resolved by border, customs and regional authorities,” said Rosaviatsia, as quoted by Reuters.

Meanwhile, an employee at the airport’s flight dispatch service in Magadan told Reuters that all passengers had been taken to hotels by buses. The anonymous source also told the news agency that the aircraft was “closed off and put under guard” as it waits for Air India specialists “to land on the reserve plane tomorrow”.

He added, “It’s unclear (what happened), something is wrong with the engine, something is leaking out, they’ll look into it tomorrow,” as quoted by Reuters.

Arguments about using the Russian airspace

Notably, the incident also comes a day after Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines, raised concerns about planes flying through Russian airspace with American citizens onboard.

“What’s going to happen if an airline lands in Russia with some prominent US citizens on board? That is a potential crisis in the making,” said Kirby, adding that this issue should be solved “before the crisis happens.”

However, on the same day, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson defended the airline’s use of Russian airspace. “Air India, we operate according to the ambit of what is provided to us by the nation of India and not all nations agree,” said Wilson, adding that the airline industry plays a critical role in connecting economies, people and cultures.

(With inputs from agencies)

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