The Hindu Business Line : Air India 1 busier with Manmohan than with Vajpayee

New Delhi, Dec. 27 Air India 1, the official carrier of the Prime Minister, has been busier during the last five years than it was during the preceding five year period.

The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, went on 33 international trips during his tenure in office which is almost 50 per cent more than the 22 international trips that were made Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee when he was the Prime Minister.

While the number of international take-offs and landings by Air India 1 between 2004 and now are more, the duration of the time that the two Prime Ministers stayed abroad was about the same. Both of them were out of the country for over 100 days each.

Mr A. B. Vajpayee

Among the countries which played host to both the present and former Prime Ministers include Nigeria, Russia, the US and UK.

It was only the Gulf region to which Mr Vajpayee and Dr Singh made a single trip each during their tenures in office.

While Mr Vajpayee visited Iran, Dr Singh’s travels saw him touch down in Qatar and Oman.

The countries which played host to only Dr Manmohan Singh include Afghanistan, Bangladesh (for the SAARC summit), Brazil and the Philippines. Air India 1 touched down in Cyprus, Tajikistan, Pakistan and Maldives only during the tenure of Mr Vajpayee.

The Government charters an aircraft from Air India for the international travels of the Prime Minister. Generally a Boeing 747 is chartered for PM’s visit to far-off destinations such as countries in Europe and Americas, while the smaller Airbus is used for travel to nearby destinations in South East Asia and the Gulf region.

Recent buy

The Government recently acquired the first of the three Boeing Business Jet aircraft that will be used solely for the travel of VVIPs, including the Prime Minister.

The induction of the aircraft into the VVIP fleet will give the option of flying 10-30 people non-stop between India and the UK , among other destinations. The aircraft will be fitted with a missile deflecting security system.

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