Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's flight back to country from India faced technical snag Sunday night, forcing him to stay an extra day in New Delhi, where he attended the G20 Summit.
Trudeau was expected to board his 20:00 pm flight to Canada from New Delhi. However, the 35-year-old CC 150 Polaris aircraft developed the glitch that could not be repaired in a short period.
“Upon arriving at the airport, the Canadian delegation received information that the Prime Minister’s plane was experiencing technical difficulties that could not be repaired in a short period,” according to Trudeau’s staff.
Not the first time
The Polaris fleet falls under the jurisdiction of the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) 437 Transport Squadron. This is not the first time that the Airbus developed technical issues for Trudeau and his team.
In October 2016, an issue caused the aircraft's return to Ottawa just 30 minutes after departure, with Trudeau en route to Belgium to finalise the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.
In October 2019, the VIP plane encountered an incident when it collided with a hangar wall during towing at 8 Wing Trenton in Ontario. This caused "significant structural damage to the nose and right engine cowling," as reported by the Royal Canadian Air Force. Consequently, the aircraft remained out of commission for several months that year. During this period, an alternative aircraft was deployed to transport Trudeau to the NATO summit in December 2019. However, it faced grounding in London due to an engine issue detected by the Royal Canadian Air Force.
The Polaris fleet, comprising five planes, is expected to reach the end of its operational lifespan in 2027. Government officials have cited challenges in extending this timeline further, primarily due to the ageing nature of the equipment.
