Air India plane bound for US makes unscheduled Russia landing

An Air India plane flying from Delhi to San Francisco made a precautionary landing in the Russian region of Siberia after crew detected a potential issue in the cargo hold area, the Indian airline said on Friday.

It was the second time in a little over a year that an Air India flight on the same route had made an unscheduled landing in Russia.

Many carriers, including US and European Union airlines, do not fly over Russian airspace following the war in Ukraine, but Air India does, giving it a flying time and cost advantage on US routes.

The Boeing 777 aircraft, carrying 225 passengers and 19 flight crew, landed safely at Krasnoyarsk International Airport, the airline said in statement on social media platform X, adding it was making arrangements for a replacement flight to San Francisco.

Shortly after the incident, Russia's civil aviation agency, Rosaviatsiya, said on the Telegram messaging app the aircraft had taxied to a parking spot after landing and there had been no signs of a fire or smoke onboard.

Russia banned many foreign carriers from its airspace in retaliation for Western sanctions over the Ukraine war, and many countries and airlines also banned their planes from crossing all or part of Russia.

The bans have redrawn air routes and upset business models for some airlines that now need to fly around the world's largest country. United Airlines cancelled many of its non-stop US-India flights due to the issue.

In June 2023, an Air India Boeing plane on the same route was stranded for a day after reporting a technical issue. Passengers on that flight, including US citizens, were housed in makeshift accommodation at Russia's remote Magadan airport.

Air India sent an aircraft a day later to pick up the stranded passengers.

Krasnoyarsk International Airport said on Telegram the plane landed due to an activated smoke detector and a replacement flight with Air India staff from Delhi would land around 2 p.m. local time (0700 GMT), according to preliminary information.

Boeing and a spokesperson for the US State Department deferred to Air India for comment on the incident.