Trudeau’s departure to be delayed further as replacement aircraft diverted

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is still stranded in Delhi after his plane developed a technical slag on September 10, the day when the G20 Summit ended. His replacement aircraft, which was on its way from Canada, was diverted to London, CBC news reported.

No reason was given for the unscheduled diversion, the news report said.

Trudeau arrived in Delhi on September 8 with his son Xavier for the G20 Summit. He was supposed to fly out on September 10 (Sunday). However, his Airbus plane developed a snag, forcing him to prolong his stay in Delhi.

The Canadian Armed Forces sent its CC-150 Polaris plane to pick up Trudeau after the plane that he took to Delhi was grounded due to technical issues, the Toronto Sun reported on Monday.

The replacement flight, which initially was routing through Rome on its way to Delhi, was diverted to London. The earliest the plane would leave London is early Tuesday morning (local time), the Canadian Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) said, citing the CBC news report.

Meanwhile, a technician with a replacement part for the Airbus plane that was grounded in Delhi has been sent to India, a Canadian government source told CBC news. Trudeau can still board the Airbus plane if it meets all air safety regulations.

But, if neither the Airbus plane nor the replacement flight are available, another jet would be sent to Delhi to pick up Trudeau and his delegation.

CANADIAN AIR FORCE PLANE’S EARLIER TROUBLES

Notably, the CC-150 Polaris, which was on its way to India before being diverted to London, is 36 years old and has caused issues in the past.

In October 2016, the plane carrying Trudeau returned to Ottawa after it took off from Belgium for an official visit, CBC news reported.

In 2019, the plane was out of service for 16 months and a backup flight was grounded in London in December of that year when Trudeau was there to attend a NATO summit.

The plane crashed into a wall in October 2019 when it was being towed into a hangar in Trenton, sustaining “significant structural damage to the nose and right engine cowling,” the Royal Canadian Air Force said.