Indian embassy in Moscow steps up to help stranded Air India passengers in Krasnoyarsk

The Indian Embassy in Moscow has dispatched a team of three senior officials and an interpreter to Krasnoyarsk to assist the passengers of Air India flight AI183, which made an emergency landing on Thursday.

The team will stay on the ground until a replacement plane arrives and takes all the passengers on their onward journey.

According to a statement released by the Indian Embassy in Russia, the team is coordinating with airport and security authorities and representatives of the Russian Foreign Ministry to provide all possible assistance to the passengers. The statement added that the team will stay on the ground in Krasnoyarsk till Air India’s replacement plane arrives and takes the passengers on their onward journey.

Earlier, Air India had said that they had obtained clearance for a relief flight that would take the passengers on its flight AI-183, bound from New Delhi to San Francisco, to Mumbai. The flight had made a precautionary landing at Krasnoyarsk International Airport (KJA) in Russia at around midnight local time due to technical issues.

Air India’s local support was activated to assist passengers, who were required by authorities to remain in the terminal building in the absence of Russian visas. Food and beverage amenities at the terminal, which were closed for the evening, have now opened, and meals are being provided to all passengers.

Representatives from the Indian consulate in Moscow have travelled overnight and are working with Russian authorities to allow passengers to move to hotels, which have been on standby throughout the night. Regulatory clearances have been obtained for a relief flight that will depart Mumbai at 1100 hrs IST and ferry the guests out of Krasnoyarsk International Airport later today.