Air India's San Francisco flight, once diverted to Russia's Magadan, cancelled due to operational issues

New Delhi, Oct 2

Air India flight AI-173, scheduled to depart for San Francisco from Delhi early on Tuesday, was cancelled hours before its scheduled take-off, causing inconvenience to the passengers.

"This is to inform you about your flight AI-173 (DEL- SFO) flight has been cancelled due to operational reasons," read the message sent by Air India to one of the passengers.

The flight was scheduled to take off from the Indira Gandhi International Airport at 6.a.m. on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, an Air India spokesperson said that an alternate Boeing 777 has been arranged which will depart for San Francisco on October 3 (Tuesday) afternoon.

"All the passengers have been taken care of. Those who cancelled their tickets have received full refund along with a compensation package. We have also arranged hotel stay for some passengers, who are scheduled to leave by the flight on October 3," the spokesperson said.

This is the same flight, which enroute San Francisco from Delhi in June this year was forced to divert and make an emergency landing at the Magadan airport in Russia due to a technical issue with one of its engines.

The flight, carrying 216 passengers and 16 crew members, encountered the problem mid-air, prompting the pilot to take immediate action to ensure the safety of all on board. Video footage had surfaced on Twitter showing stranded Air India passengers forced to sleep on the floor of a school after their flight was diverted to Magadan.