Delhi: Trudeau likely to depart for Canada today afternoon; his flight cleared to fly

Canadian PM Justin Trudeau, who was stranded in India after his flight developed technical snag, is expected to depart today afternoon as his aircraft has been cleared to fly, officials said. Trudeau had come here to attend G20 World Leaders Summit held in Delhi on September 9 and 10.

New Delhi [India] : Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his delegation are expected to depart on Tuesday afternoon as the technical issue with his aircraft has been resolved, authorities said. Mohammad Hussain, Press Secretary of Canada's Prime Minister's Office, confirmed this. "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,” Hussain said.

The Canadian Prime Minister, who had arrived in India for the G20 Summit on Friday, had to extend his stay in New Delhi after his plane developed a technical snag. Trudeau who was accompanied by his son Xavier and a Canadian delegation were scheduled to depart on Sunday night.

The Canadian PM's office in a statement said that a replacement aircraft sent to pick up Trudeau was diverted to the UK and will leave the UK early Tuesday morning (London time). 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. (ANI)