ISTANBUL — An Air India aircraft flying from Delhi to San Francisco was pressured to divert and land in Russia after it developed a technical difficulty with one in every of its engines, the airline stated on Tuesday.
The 216 passengers onboard are being supplied help on the bottom and shall be supplied with different choices to succeed in their locations on the earliest alternative, Air India stated, including the aircraft additionally carried a crew of 16.
The diversion of the Boeing widebody plane comes a day after the chief of the world’s largest service raised security considerations about airways flying by way of Russian airspace with American residents onboard.
“What’s going to happen if an airline lands in Russia with some prominent US citizens on board? That is a potential crisis in the making,” Scott Kirby, CEO of United Airlines stated on Monday.
“I think we should solve it before the crisis happens.”
Russia has barred US airways and different overseas carriers from utilizing its airspace, in retaliation for Washington banning Russian flights over the US in March 2022 after Moscow despatched troops into Ukraine.
However, Air India and a few Gulf-based, Chinese and African carriers proceed to fly over Russia, making flying instances shorter and American rivals uncompetitive.
In February, US senators urged the Biden administration to halt Chinese airways and different non-American carriers from flying over Russia on US routes. — Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
