Air India dispatched a replacement plane to pick up the passengers, who were headed for San Francisco But forced to land in the Russian port town of Magadan after engine issues.
By Chantal Da Silva
Hundreds of U.S.-bound passengers have been left stranded in Russia after their flight was forced to make an emergency landing in the country's far east.
Air India dispatched a Plane Wednesday to pick up the passengers, who found themselves diverted into the middle of geopolitical tensions over Russian airspace fueled by the war in Ukraine.
The decision to land in the Country despite those complications sparked criticism on social media.
Flight AI173 departed from Delhi to San Francisco on Tuesday with 216 passengers and 16 crew Onboard when it developed a technical issue with one of its engines, Air India said in a statement.
The flight was diverted to the Siberian port town of Magadan, where it was able to land safely, the airline said. Air India said local authorities at the airport extended "all cooperation and support upon the flight's arrival."
The airline said it made "sincere attempts to accommodate passengers in hotels locally with the help of local government authorities. But it said passengers were "eventually moved to a makeshift accommodation."
"As we do not have any Air India staff based in the remote town of Magadan or in Russia, all ground support being provided to the passengers is the best possible in this unusual circumstance," Air India said.
On Wednesday, the airline said a replacement ferry flight, AI195, was on its way to Magadan and was expected to arrive at around 6:30 a.m. Thursday local time (3:30 p.m. ET Wednesday).
Sharing video of the replacement flight taking off, the airline said a team was onboard the flight to "provide any support that the passengers and staff at GDX may require."
"The ferry flight is carrying essentials in addition to Sufficient amount of food to cater to all passengers on the onward flight scheduled from GDX to San Francisco," it said, adding that the aircraft would transport all passengers and crew onward to San Francisco on Thursday.
In a State Department briefing on Tuesday, principal deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel said the department was "aware of a U.S. Bound flight that had to make an emergency landing in Russia."
He said he wasn't able to confirm how many U.S. citizens were aboard the flight, but said it was "likely" that there were Americans involved as the flight was bound for the U.S.
One stranded passenger told Indian broadcaster NDTV there were many U.S. Citizens on the flight who were worried, given the tension between Russia and the United States.