Key Points :
- The first VVIP Aircraft for the President, the Vice President and the Prime Minister arrived in India.
- Air India One is equipped with a secured communication system.
- The new planes have been configured to provide generous office space, meeting rooms, a wide array of communication systems and a section for handling medical emergencies.
- Air India pilots will also be a part of the aircraft operation team until the IAF Pilots gain expertise in handling it.
Air India had sent a pair of Boeing 777 aircraft to a Boeing facility in Dallas to spruce up for VVIP travel. Earlier in August, batches of senior officials of Air India, security officers, and senior government officials had left for The United States to assess the technical requirement and accept the delivery of the SESF or VVIP aircraft Air India One.
Now as of today October 1, the first of the two VVIP aircraft Air India One for President , Vice President and Prime Minister arrived in India.
Officials aware of the development said that The first specially modified Boeing 777 aircraft, part of the Air India One fleet for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, landed in New Delhi on Thursday after a 15-hour flight from Worth Airport in Texas.
A top aviation ministry official said,
“The Boeing jet landed at 3.11 pm on Thursday.”
Officials added,
“The delivery of the aircraft was scheduled for August 25 but has been delayed due to certain operational issues. It took a few weeks’ time to deliver.”The government has planned to obtain two such specially modified Boeing-777 aircraft, capable of countering missile threats with their own missile defence system, called the Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) and Self-Protection Suites (SPS).
Air India One is the call sign of any aircraft with the President or Prime Minister of India on board.
It is said that the modified aircraft are set to match the US President’s Air Force One in terms of security measures.
The aircraft is operated as a VVIP flight by the Indian Air Force. The new overhauled aircrafts will be used exclusively by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu.
The new planes have been configured to provide generous office space, meeting rooms, a wide array of communication systems and a section for handling medical emergencies. The aircraft can fly between the US and India without having to stop for refuelling. Sources familiar with the details also told ANI that Air India One is equipped with an advanced and secured communication system that allows availing audio and video communication functions mid-air without any worries of hacking or being taped.
Currently, the Boeing- 747 planes that are authorised from Air India for use by the three dignitaries are almost two decades old.The modified aircraft will also have ‘Bharat’ and India written on them, along with the Ashoka emblem.
Air India pilots will also be a part of the aircraft operation team until the IAF Pilots gain expertise in handling it.
