ISTANBUL, June 6 (Reuters) – An Air India aircraft flying from Delhi to San Francisco was compelled to divert and land at an airport in Russia’s Far East after it developed a technical situation with one in every of its engines, the airline mentioned on Tuesday.

The diversion of the Boeing (BA.N) 777 widebody plane comes amid a worldwide debate over the usage of Russian airspace by some carriers, with the chief of United Airlines (UAL.O) warning on Monday of the hazards of a aircraft being compelled to land in Russia with American residents on board.

The 216 passengers and 16 crew onboard have been being supplied assist on the bottom and accommodated in native inns for the evening, Air India mentioned.

The airline mentioned it deliberate to ship a aircraft on Wednesday to select them up and fly them to their authentic vacation spot.

“The authorities are extending all cooperation in our effort to ensure that passengers safely reach their destination at the earliest,” it mentioned.

Air India mentioned it couldn’t share any passenger particulars.

Russia’s aviation authority mentioned it was checking on the aircraft’s technical situation after touchdown at Magadan airport and it had given permission for the alternate flight to land there at 0300 GMT on Wednesday.

“At present, the question of passengers’ stay and accommodation is being resolved by border, customs and regional authorities,” Rosaviatsia mentioned earlier within the day.

The airport at Magadan, a port city on the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia’s Far East, didn’t reply to a request for remark.

The diversion additionally raises questions over how shortly the $200 million Boeing 777, a high-profile U.S.-built aircraft whose engines are made by General Electric (GE.N), could be repaired amid U.S. and European Union sanctions on exports of aviation objects to Russia.

In 2018, a Norwegian Air Boeing 737 made an emergency touchdown in Iran with engine issues weeks after Washington re-imposed sanctions and have become stranded for greater than two months.

The 186 passengers and 6 crew have been capable of fly out of Shiraz the following day. But regardless of preliminary assurances from the airline that the aircraft would additionally shortly be repatriated, a GE engine enterprise waited weeks for a U.S. Treasury export licence.

The U.S. Department of Commerce didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.

GE Aerospace mentioned it was conscious of the diversion and dealing with Air India to resolve the problem.

BANNED

On Monday, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson defended the airline’s use of Russian airspace, noting the vital function the trade performs in connecting economies, individuals and cultures.

“Air India, we operate according to the ambit of what is provided to us by the nation of India and not all nations agree,” he mentioned on a panel on the International Air Transport Association (IATA) annual assembly.

Russia has barred U.S. airways and different overseas carriers from utilizing its airspace in retaliation for Washington banning Russian flights over the United States 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, U.S. senators urged the Biden administration to halt Chinese airways and different non-American carriers from flying over Russia on U.S. routes.

Reuters reported final week that Chinese airways are avoiding utilizing Russian airspace in 4 newly authorized flights to and from the United States.

Reporting by Aditi Shah, Tim Hepher and Joanna Plucinska in ISTANBUL, David Shepardson and Valerie Insinna in DC, Alexnader Marrow and Gleb Stolyarov;
Writing by Josephine Mason;
Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise, David Evans and Mark Potter

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