India offered services of 'AI One' to PM Trudeau after snag in aircraft

NEW DELHI: India had offered services of aircraft 'Air India One' to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after his special aircraft developed a technical glitch shortly before his departure from New Delhi after the G20 Summit, said sources. The Canadian side, however, declined the offer and chose to wait for the backup aircraft, they added.

Canadian PM Trudeau and his delegation departed from the national capital on Tuesday afternoon after being stranded here for two days. Trudeau, who arrived in India for the G20 Summit on Friday, had to extend his stay in the national capital after a technical snag on his Airbus plane on Sunday night.

This prompted the Canadian side to call for an alternate aircraft to take PM Trudeau and his delegate back to their country. The alternate aircraft which was expected to arrive in New Delhi on Monday night also had an unscheduled diversion to London, further delaying the Canadian Prime Minister's departure from India.

According to sources, the Indian side had offered services of aircraft 'Air India One' to Canadian PM Trudeau and his delegation to fly back, after coming to know about the delay in the departure of the Canadian PM and accompanying delegation due to the glitch in their special aircraft.

However, the Canadian side declined the offer and instead chose to wait for the backup aircraft, sources said. Earlier in the day, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Union Minister of State (MoS) for Electronics and Information Technology thanked Trudeau for his presence at the G20 Summit on behalf of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. 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. Meanwhile, in addition to attending the G20 Summit, Trudeau held a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the Summit in New Delhi.

During the meeting, PM Modi raised “strong concerns” about the continuous “anti-India activities” by extremist elements in Canada, and stated that it is essential for the two countries to cooperate in dealing with such threats. Trudeau, while responding on the issue, told the media that Canada will always defend "freedom of expression", and at the same time will always be there to "prevent violence".