New Delhi: The technical issue with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s plane has been resolved, a member of his office told news agency ANI Tuesday, adding that he would fly out of Delhi this afternoon.
Press Secretary of Canada’s Prime Minister’s Office Mohammed Hussain said the plane had been cleared to fly and that the delegation would leave soon.
Trudeau, who was in Delhi over the weekend to attend the G20 Leaders Summit, could not leave Sunday evening as his aircraft experienced “technical issues”. This raised questions about the ageing Airbus CC-150 Polaris planes that Canadian prime ministers use for trips abroad.
To retrieve the prime minister and his delegation, the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) sent another Polaris to India Sunday night, CBC News reported, but added the second aircraft had been diverted from its original route to Delhi – hinting that Trudeau might be stuck in India for longer.
The report said: “The replacement plane, which initially was routing through Rome on its way to India, has since been diverted to London, England. According to the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office), the earliest the plane will leave the U.K. is early Tuesday morning London time.”
CBC News quoted government officials as saying that a technician from Canada with the part needed to fix the first plane was flying commercial to India.
The report said the part was not fundamental to flying the plane but was required to meet regulations. “If the first plane can be fixed before the replacement plane arrives, it will bring Trudeau and the delegation home,” the report added.
After the first plane was grounded, his main rival the Conservative Party put out this unflattering post on X.
Trudeau’s never ending global clown show grounded in India. pic.twitter.com/Sgi3qLaAAu
— Conservative Party (@CPC_HQ) September 11, 2023
Reports said this was not the first time the RCAF’ 36-year-old Polaris plane has caused issues for Trudeau while he has been in office.
In October 2016, the plane developed a snag and returned to Ottawa 30 minutes after take-off when he was on his way to Belgium.
Exactly three years later, the VIP plane rolled into a wall while being towed to a hangar and sustained significant structural damage to the nose and right engine. This knocked it out of service for 16 months.
“A backup aircraft was used to take Trudeau to the NATO summit in December 2019, but it was grounded in London when the air force discovered a problem with one of the engines,” CBC reported.
But things are looking up as the Canadian government has now purchased nine old and used planes. The first arrived in Ottawa on 31 August.
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