Boeing 787 flight bound for UK forced to perform emergency landing in Moscow due to 'technical problems'

The Air India flight took off from Delhi and was due to land in Birmingham, but was forced to make a stop at Sheremetyevo Airport in the Russian capital at around 9.35pm local Moscow time. It was confirmed that all 258 passengers and 17 crew members were unharmed following the emergency landing.

In a statement, airport staff said: “The aircraft’s crew requested an unscheduled landing at Sheremetyevo Airport due to technical problems. Airport services promptly responded to the crew’s request and prepared to receive the aircraft according to the applicable emergency plan. The foreign crew received full assistance from the Russian airport and specialists under the applicable international convention.”

The emergency landing in Moscow is the third such incident for Air India in recent months. In July, a flight carrying 225 passengers and 19 crew members which was traveling from Delhi to San Francisco was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Siberia after a potential issue was identified in the cargo area of the Boeing 777 aircraft.

At the time, passengers were almost left stranded due to Air India having no dedicated presence at Siberia’s Krasnoyarsk Airport. However, third-party staff helped them to board a ferry flight back to the US’s west coast.

Previous to this, another flight on the same Delhi-San Francisco route was grounded for a full day due to technical issues on board. A replacement aircraft was eventually sent to retrieve passengers and take them to their final destination.