US-Bound Air India 777 Stranded in Rural Russia After Diversion

IATA should mandate that all airlines shall never allow passengers on-board with citizenships who would be subject to kidnapping by local authorities in countries a flight overflies or could divert to. The liabilities involved are too great to the carriers and to the passengers. This doesn't mean ban every flight across country X, but it means carriers must assure their passengers' safety in every contingency.

I hope to the knock on wood that all deck crews precalculate alternates for a 1 engine glide as part of the preflight briefing. Equipment breaks, so contingencies plans have to be made for expediting parts and maintenance personnel, replacement equipment, another flight crew rotation if needed, and accommodations for passengers and crew. It's preparedness and a logistics game once the SHTF.

The worst case would be equipment that isn't field repairable, i.e., beyond field diagnosis and repair. The 777 is certified for EDTO/ETOPS-330 (5.5 hr of 1E operation) and a 1ETO if the departing runway were long enough. This is probably not something you want to do with passengers, but as a ferry run to the nearest capable repair facility.

The longest flight in the world is SQ23/SQ24 SIN-JFK via an Airbus A350-900ULR with a flight time of about 19.5 hrs, with EDTO/ETOPS-370. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Airlines_Flights_23_...