NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind, on Tuesday, boarded the Air India One — B777 aircraft — on its inaugural flight to Chennai, said a statement from Rashtrapati Bhavan.
"This is the first flight of the Air India One — B777 aircraft with the Head of State on board. The aircraft is fuel efficient and has longer range than the B747-400 that are deployed for similar VVIP operations. The aircraft has state-of-art interiors with reduced noise levels," the statement said.
On the occasion of inaugural flight of Air India One — B777, President Kovind commended the pilots, crew members and the entire team of the Air India and the Indian Air Force for operating the state-of-the-art aircrafts and facilitating VVIP movements within India and on State visits abroad.
Air India One is the call sign for the VVIP aircraft used by Indian President, Vice President and Prime Minister.
These two aircrafts were part of Air India's commercial fleet for a few months in 2018 before they were sent back to Boeing for retrofitting them for VVIP travel.
The B777 planes will have state-of-the-art missile defence systems called Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) and Self-Protection Suites (SPS).
President Kovind took the inaugural Air India One-B777 aircraft from Delhi to Chennai, on his way to Tirupati. Before boarding the flight, the President performed a small inaugural ritual for the brand new aircraft.
President to offer prayers at Tirumala temple: The President landed at the Renigunta airport at 10.45 a.m on Tuesday. He was recieved at the airport by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and Governor Biswa Bhusan Harichandan. The President of India is scheduled to visit Sri Padmavati deity at Tiruchanuru and the Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala temple. He will offer prayers to Lord Venkateswara. (IANS)
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