For the second time since September last year, the official aircraft carrying Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for a visit abroad broke down forcing the deployment of a standby plane.
In September last year, while in New Delhi to attend the G20 leaders’ summit, Trudeau had to stay back in the capital for an extra day-and-a-half due to trouble with the plane. This time, however, he returned to Ottawa from a family vacation at a luxury resort in Jamaica after a technician managed to repair the original plane on which he had travelled.
Trudeau left for the resort on December 26 and returned on Thursday. He was accompanied by family members including Sophie Gregoire, from whom he separated in 2023.
The outlet CBC News reported on Friday that the Department of National Defence had to send a second plane to Jamaica after the as the “first aircraft that transported the Prime Minister’s party became unserviceable after arrival.”
Both planes were CC-144 Challengers operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force. “The second aircraft brought a maintenance team to repair the first aircraft, and remained in the area as a back-up for the Prime Minister’s departure, if necessary,” the report quoted a DND spokesperson as saying.
The problem with the original plane was discovered on January 2 and a maintenance crew despatched to Jamaica the day, and it managed to return it “to serviceability.”
The outlet National Post had reported earlier that while Trudeau had originally stated he was bearing the cost of the trip, the PMO later clarified it was “at no cost” courtesy family friends.
Earlier, last September, a Royal Canadian Air Force’s CC-150 Polaris was despatched to Delhi after a technical snag with the original flight prevented Trudeau from leaving as scheduled.
As a fallback measure a technician with a replacement part had also been sent to Delhi. That proved the solution to the Canadian PM”s travel woes.
As the Canadian Government scrambled to get its leader back, yet another fallback option was a Challenger aircraft that will sent to collect the Canadian Prime Minister and his entourage if neither the original plane nor the replacement were available for that purpose.
The aircraft currently being used then by Trudeau is 36 years old and has caused problems earlier. In October 2016, it returned to Ottawa half an hour after taking off. Trudeau was then travelling to Belgium.
That plane was out of service for 16 months and a backup was grounded in London in December 2019 when Trudeau was there for a NATO summit.
The planes involved in the Jamaica trip were newer, and had only been acquired in 2020.
Vikram Sharma is a globe-trotting journalist with a global perspective on international events. His articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing insights into the world’s most pressing challenges.
