Canadian PM Trudeau, delegation depart from New Delhi after aircraft tech issue gets resolved

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar was at the airport to see off Trudeau. (Image: Twitter)

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his delegation departed from the national capital on September 12 afternoon after the technical issue with his aircraft was resolved.

Trudeau, who arrived in Delhi on Friday, was scheduled to leave on Sunday but was stranded for two days due to a technical issue with the aircraft. A source in the know said the aircraft took off at around 1310 hrs (1:10 pm IST).

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar was at the airport to see off Trudeau. "On behalf of PM @narendramodi Ji and my colleagues in govt, I was at the airport today to thank Mr. Justin Trudeau, Hon'ble Prime Minister of Canada @JustinTrudeau for his presence at the #G20Summit and wished him and his entourage a safe trip back home," the minister said in a post on platform X.

The Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics & Technology also shared a picture of him with Trudeau. In a statement on Tuesday, the prime minister's office said the plane has been cleared to fly.

Trudeau and his delegation, who were to leave Delhi after the G20 summit on Sunday, were stranded here due to a technical issue with the aircraft. "The technical issue with the plane has been resolved. The plane has been cleared to fly. The Canadian delegation is expected to depart this afternoon," the statement said.

On Monday, the prime minister's office said the Canadian Armed Forces continue their best efforts to get the delegation home. "We will keep you updated regularly as the situation evolves. Their latest update shows an earliest possible departure of Tuesday late afternoon. The situation remains fluid," it had said.

According to earlier reports, Justin Trudeau and the Canadian team were to be picked up by a CC-150 Polaris that the Royal Canadian Air Force flew on Sunday night from CFB Trenton to India. The problem, according to Canada's National Defence, involved a component that needed to be changed.

In a previous statement, Canada's National Defence said, "The safety of all passengers is critical to the RCAF and pre-flight safety checks are a regular part of all of our flight protocols," according to CBC News.

The 36-year-old CC-150 Polaris had a problem that was found during the preflight inspection, according to news reports. The Polaris fleet has caused problems for Trudeau previously as well.

Mohammad Hussain, the Prime Minister's Office of Canada's press secretary, spoke to ANI earlier on Tuesday afternoon saying, “The technical issue with the plane has been resolved. The plane has been cleared to fly. The Canadian delegation is expected to depart this afternoon.”