A replacement plane for a San Francisco-bound Air India flight that had to make an emergency landing in Russia has landed at the Siberia airport to take the more than 200 stranded passengers to the Bay Area.
In video shared on social media by Air India, the airline said the replacement Boeing 777 took off from Mumbai for Siberia. According to FlightAware, the plane landed in Magadan, Russia, just after 4 a.m. local time.
Richa Verma, who lives in California's Central Valley, shared photos her parents sent of their sleeping accommodations in Russia. She said she could hear a change in her parents' voices when she talked with them about the replacement plane coming to take them to San Francisco.
"The sound of relief I would guess," Verma said. "Because they were like, finally, it's here and it's happening. And the same goes for us."
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According to Air India, the replacement plane it sent from Mumbai had engineers and equipment aboard to repair the original jet.
When the replacement jet touched down in Russia, it took about three hours for eager passengers to board. The plane is now expected to land at SFO at around midnight Thursday.
NBC Bay Area aviation analyst Mike McCarron said that's about standard for an intercontinental flight.
"They're going to have to service the aircraft, fuel it," he said. "They probably only brought as much fuel as they needed to get to that destination. Then they'll top off the plane to get it back to San Francisco."
When passengers first touched down at the remote northern Russia facility nearly two days ago, many took to social media to voice concerns about everything from the temperature there to sleeping accommodations and even diplomatic concerns related to Russia's ongoing war with Ukraine.
According to the U.S. State Department, fewer than 50 people aboard Air India Flight 195 are U.S. citizens. There have been no reports of any issues from authorities in Magadan.
Girvaan Singh Kahma, 16, was traveling on the flight with his uncle and brother. He said they were barred from leaving the hostel where they were staying in Magadan and were unable to use their credit cards because of sanctions over Russia’s war on Ukraine.
"The first day and a half was really hard for all of us," he said. "The weather went to 3 to 4 degrees (Celsius) in the morning, and in the night it was bitter cold," he said, adding that it was getting better with food and a place to sleep.
"The Russian soldiers, the Russian police, the authorities, everyone working in the hostel has been treating us extremely well," he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
