Plane bound for UK forced to make emergency landing in Russia

All the 258 passengers and 17 crew members are unharmed

An Air India flight en route from Delhi to Birmingham made a precautionary landing in Moscow after facing “technical problems” on Wednesday night.

The Air India Boeing 787-800 passenger plane to Britain made a safe emergency landing at the Russian capital’s Sheremetyevo airport, with all 258 passengers and 17 crew members unharmed. The incident occurred at around 9.35pm Moscow time.

“The aircraft’s crew requested an unscheduled landing at Sheremetyevo Airport due to technical problems,” the airport said in a statement. “Airport services promptly responded to the crew’s request and prepared to receive the aircraft according to the applicable emergency plan. The foreign crew received full assistance from the Russian airport and specialists under the applicable international convention.”

The scheduled departure time of the flight was set for 21.35 Moscow time (18.35GMT).

This was the third Air India flight in recent months to make an emergency landing due to technical problems.

A flight from Delhi to San Francisco in July carrying 225 passengers and 19 crew was forced to land in Siberia after a potential issue was found in the cargo hold area. In a statement, Air India said a team, including crew and security personnel, were on board a ferry flight sent to pick up stranded US-bound passengers from Russia. It had also set up a dedicated hotline for anyone wanting to reach out to the passengers.

Since Air India didn’t have a dedicated presence at the Krasnoyarsk airport, it had to rely on third-party services to assist the stranded passengers, leading to logistical problems, the Hindustan Times reported, quoting airline officials.

The airport had put the flight’s crew in hotels but the passengers were left in the international departure area, which angered some of those stranded, Reuters reported, citing social media posts of some of the passengers.

Another Air India aircraft flying the same route last year was grounded for a day due to a technical issue, requiring a replacement aircraft to be sent to retrieve the stranded passengers.

The pilots had received an indication of low oil pressure in one of the engines, forcing them to land at the remote Magadan airport in Russia. The 216 passengers and 16 flight crew had to be housed in makeshift accommodation at the airport until the replacement plane arrived.