Justin finally flies out from Delhi, after aircraft troubles sorted

NEW DELHI: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who had been stranded in Delhi for two days after the G20 Leaders Summit due to a technical snag in his flight, departed from the national capital on Tuesday afternoon. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology thanked Trudeau for his presence at the G20 Summit on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Chandrasekhar posted on his social media platform 'X' a photograph of himself seeing off the Canadian Prime Minister at the Palam Airport. "On behalf of PM @narendramodi Ji and my colleagues in govt, I was at the airport today to thank Mr. Justin Trudeau, Hon’ble Prime Minister of Canada @JustinTrudeau for his presence at the #G20Summit and wished him and his entourage a safe trip back home," Chandrasekar posted.

Trudeau, who had arrived in India for the G20 Summit on Friday, had to extend his stay in New Delhi after a technical snag on his Airbus plane delayed his departure on Sunday night.

A replacement aircraft expected to arrive in New Delhi on Monday night had an unscheduled diversion to London, which further delayed the Canadian Prime Minister's departure. This afternoon, Mohammad Hussain, Press Secretary at Canada's Prime Minister's Office told ANI: “The technical issue with the plane has been resolved. The plane has been cleared to fly. The Canadian delegation is expected to depart this afternoon.”

Canada-based CBC News reported that Trudeau continued to work from his hotel in New Delhi. Earlier it was reported that the Royal Canadian Air Force sent a CC-150 Polaris from CFB Trenton to India on Sunday night to pick up Justin Trudeau and the Canadian delegation.

Canada's National Defence had said that the issue involves a part that must be replaced. Canada's National Defence in a statement earlier said, "The safety of all passengers is critical to the RCAF and pre-flight safety checks are a regular part of all of our flight protocols," CBC News reported. It further said, "The discovery of this issue is evidence that these protocols are effective."

As per the news report, the issue with the 36-year-old CC-150 Polaris was discovered during the preflight check process. It is not the first time the Polaris fleet has caused issues for Trudeau. In October 2016, an issue in the aircraft required it to return to Ottawa 30 minutes after taking off with Trudeau.

In October 2019, the aircraft rolled into a wall while being towed into a hangar at 8 Wing Trenton, which caused "significant structural damage to the nose and right engine cowling," CBC News reported citing the Air Force.

The VVIP plane remained out of service for 16 months in 2019. The Canadian government has bought nine planes, some new and some used, to replace its existing fleet, CBC News reported.

The widebody jets will replace RCAF's 1980s-era Airbus A-310s, also known as the Airbus CC-150 Polaris, which is used for flying Trudeau's abroad visits and transporting security personnel.

Meanwhile, in addition to attending the G20 Summit, Trudeau held a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Summit in New Delhi. Trudeau also congratulated PM Modi on the success of India's G20 Presidency of the G20.

During the meeting, PM Modi highlighted that India-Canada relations are anchored in shared democratic values, respect for the rule of law and strong people-to-people ties, according to the Ministry of External Affairs.

During the meeting, PM Modi raised “strong concerns” about the continuous “anti-India activities” by extremist elements in Canada, and stated that it is essential for the two countries to cooperate in dealing with such threats.