Air India Boeing plane bound for San Francisco makes unscheduled landing in Russia

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.

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.

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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.

Krasnoyarsk International Airport did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Boeing and a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department deferred to Air India for comment on the incident.

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

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

Reuters