Air India flight AI-1179 lands safely in San Francisco after close to 30 hours

New Delhi [India], July 20 (ANI): Nearly 30 hours after the Air India flight to San Francisco took off from New Delhi it landed safely at the airport in the US city following a diversion to Krasnoyarsk International Airport in Russia due to a technical reason.

Originally badged as AI-183 the flight operating from New Delhi to San Francisco was diverted to Krasnoyarsk International Airport (UNKL) in Russia due to a technical reason on July 18.

In its final update on Saturday, Air India announced that the flight now re-badged as AI 1179 arrived safely in San Francisco.

“AI 1179 landed safely in San Francisco at 2027 Hrs local time (July 19). We thank the DGCA, the Government of India, the Embassy of India in Russia, the Russian authorities, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), US Customs and Border Protection, Krasnoyarsk International Airport, and all partners involved, for their support in the situation. Finally, our thanks to the passengers of AI183 of 18 July for their patience and understanding during the diversion. Safety remains our foremost priority and something we will never compromise on,” Air India said in its post on X.

On July 18, Air India flight AI-183 with 225 passengers and 19 flight crew that took off from Delhi at 6 PM was diverted to Krasnoyarsk International Airport in Russia due to technical reasons. It later made a precautionary landing at Krasnoyarsk after the cockpit crew detected a potential issue in the cargo hold area.

The passengers and crew disembarked and were taken to the terminal building for further processes. Since Air India did not have its staff at KJA, they arranged for third-party support to provide all necessary assistance to passengers.

Air India also informed passengers that they were in liaison with government agencies and regulatory authorities, and were making arrangements for a ferry flight to KJA to take passengers onwards to San Francisco at the earliest.

Later that day, ferry flight AI1179 took off from Mumbai (BOM) to Krasnoyarsk, Russia (KJA) expecting to land at 8 pm local time on July 19.

Air India informed passengers that an Air India team, including crew and security personnel, were on board the flight to provide any support that the passengers and staff at KJA may require. The Airline said that the ferry flight was carrying essentials in addition to a sufficient amount of food for all passengers. The airline also set up a dedicated hotline for the family, relatives, and friends of AI183 guests for any information they may require.

AI1179 departed Krasnoyarsk at midnight local time on July 20 for San Francisco (SFO), carrying all passengers and crew of AI183. Air India said that it had mobilised additional on-ground support in San Francisco to carry out the clearance formalities for all passengers upon arrival.

The Airline said that the team in San Francisco was prepared to provide all necessary assistance to the passengers, including but not limited to medical care, ground transportation, and onward connections in applicable cases. Finally the flight AI 1179 landed safely bringing an end to a 48 hour travel ordeal for passengers.