IT Correspondent
New Delhi, Oct 3:
“Air India One”, first of the two retrofitted Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft ordered by the Indian government, for use of PM, President and Vice-President arrived from Texas, US and landed at the Delhi airport on Thursday.
It was earlier expected to land on Indian soil from the Boeing facility at Fort Worth, Texas, in July but the delivery was delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A custom-made Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft among other things, includes a VVIP suite, two conference rooms, a press briefing room, a medical room and secure communications system, with jammers.
The wide-bodied aircraft has come fitted with sophisticated missile defence and countermeasures dispensing defence systems, including large aircraft infrared countermeasures (LAIRCM) and self-protection suites (SPS). The aircraft also has air-to-air refuelling facility.
The B777 aircraft will replace the Boeing 747 that was being used to fly Indian leaders until now. Similar to ‘Air Force One’ which is the official aircraft of the President of the United States, Air India One can function as a full-fledged office space. It will initially be operated by Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots in coordination with Air India pilots.
As of now, the president, vice-president and prime minister fly on Air India’s B747 planes under the “Air India One call sign”. Air India pilots used to fly these B747 aircrafts for the dignitaries and the Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL) used to maintains them. When not flying VVIPs, the B747 aircrafts used by Air India, for commercial operations. However, the new B777 aircraft will only be used for travel of the dignitaries. The US agreed to sell the two defence systems to India at a cost of USD 190 million.
In another development, as the number of coronavirus cases in India crossed 62 lakh, the Indian aviation regulator DGCA has announced the suspension of scheduled international passenger flights till October 31. “However, international scheduled flights may be allowed on selected routes by the competent authority on a case-to-case basis,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation added.
Since March 23 scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India due to the coronavirus-induced-lockdown. However, special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May and also under bilateral “air bubble” arrangements with a few selected countries since July. India recently formed air bubble pacts with as many as 15 countries – the US, the UK, the UAE, Kenya, Bhutan and France. Under the pact, special international flights can be operational by their airlines between their territories.
