Air India 'Ferry Flight' Reaches San Francisco With Stranded Passengers, Airline To Refund Full Ticket Price

The Air India's replacement flight reached San Francisco from Russia at 7am local time.

Air India's ferry flight reaches San Francisco

Source : PTI

Air India replacement flight reached San Francisco on Thursday carrying stranded passengers from Russia after an Air India aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing in a remote Russian town of Magadan due to a technical issue on Tuesday. The airline mobilised additional on-ground support in San Francisco to carry out the clearance formalities for all passengers upon arrival. The team in San Francisco 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 airline said.

The airline also said that it will refund full ticket price to all passengers affected by the diversion. 

"Flight AI173D landed safely in San Francisco (SFO) at 0007 hours on 08 June 2023 (local time). All our passengers are being extended maximum on-ground assistance with clearance formalities and provided other necessary support," said Air India in a statement. 

"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," it added. 

UPDATE: AI173D TOUCHES DOWN IN SAN FRANCISCO

Flight AI173D from Magadan (GDX) landed safely in San Francisco (SFO) at 0007 Hours on 08 June 2023 (local time).

All our passengers are being extended maximum on-ground assistance with clearance formalities and provided other…

— Air India (@airindia) June 8, 2023

Flight AI173 from Delhi was diverted to Magadan in Russia on Tuesday owing to an engine glitch, the Tata Group-owned private carrier said in a statement.

216 passengers onboard the Delhi-San Francisco flight were met with experiences of an entriely different place, no knowledge of the language, unfamiliar food, and uncertainty after the aircraft's emergency landing in the remote Russian city. 

The United States on Tuesday said it is closely monitoring the situation after a San Francisco-bound Air India flight made an emergency landing in Russia, as reported by the news agency PTI.

(With PTI inputs)