Passengers on Air India flight diverted to Russia finally arrive at SFO

SAN FRANCISCO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT -- An Air India flight stranded since Tuesday in Russia landed early Thursday at San Francisco International Airport, according to airline officials.

The flight's 216 passengers and 16 crew members were stranded when their Air India flight was diverted from its intended destination of San Francisco after it experienced engine troubles on Tuesday and landed at the Magadan-Sokol airport in Siberia in eastern Russia.

Flight AI173D touched down at 12:07 a.m. Thursday at SFO, according to a tweet from Air India, which included the following message: "All our passengers are being extended maximum on-ground assistance with clearance formalities and provided other necessary support. Air India thanks government agencies, regulatory authorities, our staff and partners involved in supporting our endeavour to bring our passengers to SFO as soon as possible and in providing them care while they waited in Magadan, Russia."

Since the war started in Ukraine, many airlines don't fly over Russia, but Air India still does. Social media posts showed passengers spent the night in makeshift accommodations at a local hostel. One passenger said they weren't allowed to leave the hostel during the layover, and they couldn't use their credit cards because of the sanctions over the war in Ukraine.

A replacement flight from Mumbai arrived on Wednesday to take the passengers and crew to SFO.

Air India announced a full refund to all passengers along with a voucher for future travel. But many said the last few days consisted of a lot of worry and the lack of communication from the airline added to the concern. Family members said they didn't know for some time where their loved ones had been diverted to and if it was a safe place.

One family member said her aunt on the flight was traveling internationally for the first time. 

"We got a direct flight so she doesn't have to change planes or have to deal with any of the issues and she got, you know, stuck in Russia which was not her fault or airline's fault but the customer service they provided, not a hotel ... she hasn't eaten properly in two days, she was on a mattress with literally just a skinny blanket," said Ileen Kaur. 

"Definitely we were traumatized," said passenger Alina Shah. "It is Russia so we were a little worried, the thing is now we are here and we arrived safely, we're thankful for that."