According to official sources, the plane was earlier scheduled to be delivered in July and then in August by aircraft manufacturer Boeing to Air India but got delayed once due to the COVID-19 pandemic and then in August due to technical reasons.
The aircraft landed at the National Capital from Texas around 3 pm.
Another custom made aircraft – B777 for the travel of VVIPs is likely to arrive in India from Boeing soon.
It is said that before these aircrafts were sent back from Boeing for retrofitting them for VVIP travel, they were earlier a part of Air India's commercial fleet in the year 2018. It has been estimated that nearly Rs. 8,400 crores for the purchase and retrofitting the planes.
The US agreed to sell the two defence systems to India at a cost of USD 190 million in February 2020. As per sources, the two B777 aircraft will be operated by Indian Air Force (IAF) Pilots and not of Air India, during the travel of the VVIPs.
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