The Air India ferry flight, carrying passengers stranded in Russia's remote town of Magadan, has taken off to San Francisco on Thursday with all 232 people on board. The Air India Flight AI173 from Delhi was diverted to Magadan in Russia on Tuesday owing to an engine glitch
"Flight AI173D from Magadan, Russia (GDX) is now airborne for San Francisco (SFO), carrying all passengers and crew. The flight departed GDX at 1027 Hours on 08 June 2023 (local time) and is expected to arrive at SFO at 0015 Hours on 08 June 2023 (local time)," a tweet by the Tata Group-owned private carrier said.
"Air India has mobilised additional on-ground support at SFO to carry out the clearance formalities for all passengers upon arrival. The team at SFO is prepared to provide all necessary assistance to the passengers, including but not limited to medical care, ground transportation, and onward connections in applicable cases," the tweet added.
Meanwhile, the US Department of State said that there were less than 50 American citizens on board the San Francisco-bound Air India flight. "We understand that there were less than 50 US citizens aboard that flight. We also understand that a relief aircraft is expected to arrive later today to assist the Air India flight and the passengers continue on with their route," Vedant Patel, the deputy spokesperson of the State department, told reporters on Wednesday at his daily news conference.
Patel deferred to Air India to speak to any other specifics about their further movements and any of the technical issues.
"We are not aware of any outreach from some of these American citizens to our embassy and consular officials in Russia and so don't have anything additional to offer," Patel said.
