Air India to refund fare for San Francisco flight that made emergency landing in Russia

Air India has announced that it will fully refund the fare of the New Delhi to San Francisco flight to the passengers who were left stranded in Russia because of a technical snag in the plane's engine. On Thursday, the flight AI173D safely landed in San Francisco at 12:07 am (local time). The San Francisco-bound flight took off from Delhi on June 6. However, due to an issue with one of its engines, the flight had to make an emergency landing at the Sokol Airport in Magadan, Russia.  

In order to make up for the inconvenience caused to the 216 passengers on board, the airline, besides refunding the fare, will also provide a voucher for future travel, the airline's spokesperson said. Magadan is a remote location in eastern Russia and lies farther off from Yakutsk, the capital of Sakha, one of the world's coldest places. 

(Image: Google Maps)

In a now viral picture from the Sokol airport, stranded passengers of the Air India flight were seen lying under blankets at a makeshift location in a school in Magadan, where the temperature normally ranges from -20°C to 16°C. 

Air India arranged an alternative flight which took off from Mumbai airport on June 7 with essentials and food supplies for the journey from Sokol Airport to San Francisco. The flight left Magadan at 10:27 am (local time). 

"All our passengers are being extended maximum on-ground assistance with clearance formalities and (are being) provided other necessary support," Air India said in an official 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 further said. 

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)

The United States kept a close eye on the situation, said Vedant Patel, principal deputy spokesperson for the US Department of State, because there could be American citizens onboard the flight.