Over 1,200 Russians stuck in Turkey due to cancellation of Red Wings flights

Hundreds Russian tourists were left stranded in Turkey after two Boeing 777s broke down due to technical problems.

The flights both belonged to Russian low-cost carrier Red Wings Airlines and were due to fly from Antalya Airport in Turkey over the weekend, The Moscow Times reported.

The first Boeing 777, which was traveling to the city of Yekaterinburg on Saturday, was rescheduled several times without explanation, passengers told the local news outlet E1.ru., and was eventually delayed for 48 hours.

The Prosecutor General's Office in the Russian Urals Federal District, where Yekaterinburg is located, confirmed that the delays left 410 people stranded in Turkey for at least two days.

It is unclear what exactly the technical problems were with the plane, but a source in the aviation industry told E1.ru. that Red Wings had taken on too many flights with just three Boeing 777s in its fleet.

The second Boeing 777, which was headed to Zhukovsky airport in the Moscow region on Saturday, experienced an issue with a damaged cooling system and was grounded for more than 11 hours.

As a result, three passengers fainted and an additional passenger experienced a panic attack, according to the Telegram messaging app, Mash. It is unclear how many people were on the flight.

"Two Boeing 777 aircraft out of the three available in the airline's fleet were simultaneously out of service due to technical reasons," Red Wings said in a statement, according to The Moscow Times.