PM Modi, President Kovind and the Vice-President are currently flying on Air India B747 aircraft.
New Delhi:
Two custom-made B777 aircraft, which will be used to fly Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior Indian dignitaries, are expected to be delivered by Boeing to Air India by September, senior officials said on Monday.
In October of last year, government officials said that the two planes, which are used for VVIP travel only, will be delivered by July.
“There has been some delay, mainly due to COVID-19. The two planes are scheduled to be delivered by September,” officials said on Monday.
The two B777 aircraft will be operated by pilots of the Indian Air Force and not of Air India.
However, the new wide-body aircraft will be serviced by Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), which is a subsidiary of the Indian national carrier, officials said.
Currently, the Prime Minister, President and Vice President are flying on Air India B747 aircraft, which have the call sign “Air India One”.
Air India pilots fly these B747s for dignitaries and the AIESL maintains them.
When these B747 planes do not fly the dignitaries, they are used by the Indian national carrier for commercial operations.
The new planes will only be used for the travel of dignitaries. These two planes were part of Air India’s commercial fleet for a few months in 2018 before being sent back to Boeing to modernize them for a VVIP trip.
The B777 aircraft will have advanced missile defense systems called infrared large aircraft countermeasures (LAIRCM) and self-protection suites (SPS).
In February, the United States agreed to sell the two defense systems to India at a cost of $ 190 million.
The Center has already started the divestment process of its stake in Air India, which has a debt of more than Rs 60,000 crore. However, the process was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We do not wish to comment on these matters concerning the (aviation) ministry and the government of India,” said an Air India spokesperson in response to questions sent by PTI.
Boeing did not respond to questions about this.
