Air India on Friday operated a relief flight from here to fly its Delhi-San Francisco flight passengers, who are stranded at the Krasnoyarsk International Airport (KJA) in Russia since Thursday.

The relief flight took off from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport here at 12.52 pm and is expected to reach the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk around 7 pm, an airline official told PTI.

Air India had to divert its Delhi-San Francisco flight with 225 passengers and 19 crew members to the Russian city on Thursday after the cockpit crew detected a potential issue in the cargo hold area of the Boeing 777 aircraft.

Earlier in the day, Air India had said that regulatory clearances have been obtained for a relief flight, which would depart from Mumbai to fly the stranded passengers from the Krasnoyarsk International Airport.

Air India's local support was activated to assist passengers, who were required by authorities to remain in the terminal building in the absence of Russian visas.

Food and beverage amenities at the terminal, which were closed for the evening, have now opened and meals are being provided to all passengers, the airline said.

Moreover, representatives from the Indian consulate in Moscow have travelled overnight and are working with the Russian authorities to allow passengers to move to hotels, which have been on standby throughout the night, according to Air India.

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