Air India One, the custom-made governmental Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, got stuck on the runway while taxiing at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s airport in Bangalore, prior to take-off to Delhi, India.
The Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, used by highest officials of India, got stuck on the runway because the pilot “took a left turn instead of right” while taxiing at HAL airport prior to take-off to Delhi, the airport operator said.
Indian Air Force / VIP Boeing 777-300 (one of two) got stuck on the turning pad at Bengaluru Intl Airport (VOBL), India while taxiing for departure for Delhi following a crew-training exercise. The runway was blocked for some time. @petleepeterhttps://t.co/LyasSwwcdF pic.twitter.com/tqWqWwE6ue
— JACDEC (@JacdecNew) August 7, 2021
“There was no VIP onboard and this was a routine sortie,” an HAL airport official told the Times of India on August 8, 2021. “The aircraft flew over Bengaluru before safely landing at HAL airport this morning. And then it had to take off to return to Delhi. There was no incident per se, the pilot while taxiing before the take-off, took a left turn instead of right at the turning pad.”
Air India One
India’s Presidents, Vice Presidents and Prime Ministers have been using India’s flag-carrier Air India Boeing 747 planes for their travel for nearly 25 years. However, after the two new presidential Boeing 777-300ER aircraft were received in October 2020, the Indian Air Force took over the operations of Air India One.
The two specially-modified Boeing 777s are the first dedicated aircraft to be used to fly highest officials in India. The new 777-300ERs have been heavily modified to add defense systems and a new VIP cabin. Therefore, Air India One planes have similar security measures as the Air Force One planes used by the President of the United States.
