Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, is stuck in Delhi after the G20 summit in India because his official aircraft broke down and could not be repaired.
The Canadian government had to make the humiliating admission on Sunday night that their delegation was not leaving anytime soon, as other world leaders made quick getaways from Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport on their private VIP jets.
Without going into specifics, the Prime Minister’s office stated that the technical problems with the jet could not be resolved overnight and that the entire entourage would have to stay in Delhi until “alternate arrangements” were made.
Trudeau and the rest of the Canadian delegation flew to India on a 35-year-old Canadian military version of the Airbus A310 commercial jet, which hadn’t been produced since 1998,
Five Polaris aircraft remain in service with the Royal Canadian Air Force, though the jets will soon be replaced by the much more advanced A330 aircraft.
In fact, the Air Force received its first A330 in July; this aircraft will be designated CC-330 Husky in the military. Unfortunately, more retrofit work needs to be done on the aircraft before it can be used to transport government officials.
The aircraft, which was previously used by Kuwait Airways, is undergoing renovations in Ottawa.
In the interim, on Sunday night, a second 35-year-old CC-150 plane was mobilized from Trenton Air Force Base, possibly on a rescue mission to retrieve Treadeu. On Monday morning, the plane is scheduled to touch down in Rome. It might refuel there before continuing on to Delhi.
Photo cover credit: Master Corporal Jax Kennedy, Canadian Armed Forces photo
