Hundreds of Russian passengers bound for the city of Yekaterinburg have been stranded in Antalya, Turkey, for a second day after a Russian airline suddenly lost two of its three Boeing 777 aircraft due to technical problems, authorities said.
"Two Boeing 777 aircraft out of the three available in the airline's fleet were simultaneously out of service due to technical reasons," Russia's Red Wings said in a statement. In a post on its Telegram channel, the airline said the two aircraft "simultaneously failed."
Russia's aviation industry has been hard hit by Western sanctions imposed over President Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian-operated Boeing planes have been sanctioned by the U.S. government, and the plane maker has stopped delivering spare parts and new aircraft to the country.
Local Russian news outlet E1.RU reported on Monday that some 400 people are stuck in Antalya as they wait to be returned to Yekaterinburg, Russia's fourth-largest city, located in the Russian Urals Federal District.
It quoted a source in the aviation industry as saying that Red Wings had taken on too many flights with just three Boeing 777s in its fleet.
"According to the latest information, the plane that was supposed to deliver passengers from Antalya to Yekaterinburg is now at Zhukovsky airport, it is being repaired," the source said.
Newsweek has contacted Red Wings for comment via its media feedback form.
Russian Telegram channel Mash separately reported late on Tuesday that another Red Wings flight from Antalya to Zhukovsky airport in the Moscow region had been grounded for more than 11 hours after a malfunction of the engine's cooling system.
Some passengers reportedly became unwell due to the heat and had to receive medical attention on the plane. One passenger had a panic attack and three others fainted, according to the Telegram channel.
Red Wings said that as part of an effort to rectify the situation, it has requested that Ikar, a Russian charter airline, to send out aircraft to "pick up passengers from delayed flights."
Aircraft under Ikar departed from Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport to Yekaterinburg's Koltsovo airport to send passengers to Antalya.
"Passengers will be able to return from Antalya to Yekaterinburg on the same [plane]," the airline said.
It added: "The airline apologizes, we understand that flight delays have caused inconvenience, we thank passengers for their understanding and patience."
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About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more
