Air India plane bound for US makes unscheduled Russia landing

(Reuters) -An Air India plane flying from Delhi to San Francisco made a precautionary landing in the Russian region of Siberia after the 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 made an unscheduled landing in Russia.

Many carriers, including U.S. and European Union airlines, avoid Russian airspace following the war in Ukraine, but Air India uses that route, giving it a flying time and cost advantage on U.S.-bound flights.

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.

The airport said on Telegram the plane landed due to an activated smoke detector. A replacement flight with Air India staff from Delhi is expected to land around 4:15 p.m. (0900 GMT) and depart for San Francisco two yours later, it added.

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.

The flight's crew have been moved to hotels, and passengers are in the international departure area, the airport said.

Boeing and a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department deferred to Air India for comment on the incident.

Russia banned many foreign carriers from its airspace in retaliation for Western sanctions over the Ukraine war, and many countries and airlines also banned their planes from crossing over all or part of Russia.

The bans have redrawn air routes and upset business models for some airlines that now need to fly around the world's largest country. United Airlines cancelled many of its non-stop U.S.-India flights due to the issue.

In June 2023, an Air India Boeing plane on the same route was stranded for a day after reporting a technical issue. Passengers on that flight, including U.S. citizens, were housed in makeshift accommodation at Russia's remote Magadan airport.

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

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar and Kanjyik Ghosh in Bengaluru, and Lisa Barrington in Seoul, additional reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Franklin Paul, Lincoln Feast and Jamie Freed and Miral Fahmy)