Air India flight carrying stranded passengers, crew members from Russia lands at San Francisco

Mumbai/San Francisco: An Air India flight carrying over 200 passengers stranded at Magadan in far east Russia since Tuesday, after the original aircraft had to be diverted there following a technical glitch, landed safely at San Francisco on Thursday.

"All our passengers are being extended maximum on-ground assistance with clearance formalities and provided other necessary support," Air India said in a statement.

On Wednesday, Air India had sent a ferry flight to Magadan, in Russia to fly 216 stranded passengers and 16 crew members onwards to their original destination -- San Francisco.

"Flight AI173D landed safely in San Francisco (SFO) at 0007 Hours on 08 June 2023 (local time)," the carrier said.

"Air India thanks government agencies, regulatory authorities, our staff and partners involved in supporting our endeavour to bring our passengers to SFO as soon as possible and in providing them care while they waited in Magadan, Russia," the carrier said.