A replacement plane for an Air India flight diverted to Russia because of an engine problem has landed in San Francisco, carrying all passengers and crew.
The original Boeing 777, which left New Delhi carrying 216 passengers and 16 crew members, landed at Magadan airport in Siberia in Russia’s far east on Tuesday. The plane had “developed a technical issue with one of its engines,” Air India said.
The replacement plane arrived in San Francisco at 12:07 a.m. Thursday local time, according to the website Flight Aware.
There were smiles, tears and long embraces at the arrival terminal at San Francisco International Airport as Air India Flight 173 finally arrived.
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A lot of gratitude but still a sense of frustration for some.
"It was kind of really scary when they had to dump the fuel in the middle of the flight, but then we landed," passenger Raman Singh said of the emergency diversion to Russia. "It was nice but then the whole situation there was really bad."
Videos circulated on social media, showing the passengers’ sleeping conditions at a school in Magadan. Families with small children stayed at hotels while other passengers, including the elderly, stayed at the local school.
But that wasn’t the biggest problem. Communicating with passengers was also a challenge, leaving Bay Area families anxiously waiting.
In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said fewer than 50 American citizens were on the plane and the department was not aware of any of them reaching out to the U.S. Embassy in Russia or other diplomatic posts.
Passenger Girvaan Singh Kahma, 16, who was traveling with his uncle and brother, said they were barred from leaving the hostel 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.
Air India says it will fully refund the fare for the journey and, in addition, provide a voucher for future travel to the passengers on Flight 173.
NBC Bay Area's Ginger Conejero Saab contributed to this report.
