IGI airport to get a new facility to house VVIP special Boeing 777

A new 28-acre facility is to be created at the Indira Gandhi International Airport to housing the new wide-body Boeing 777 aircraft which will be used for transporting the VVIPs including the President, Vice President, and Prime Minister, for both domestic and international travel.

"The new 28-acre facility is planned to be raised at the IGI airport where the new aircraft with call sign 'Air Force One' would be kept and maintained," government sources told the media. 

The concerned agencies, including the Civil Aviation Ministry, Indian Air Force, Delhi International Airport Limited and GMR group, are in talks to create the state-of-the-art facility, sources said. It is learned that the new aircraft is being designed in the United States of America in a Boeing facility, with the latest security systems that can detect missiles and other attacks. 

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The aircraft will be flown by Indian Air Force pilots who are being trained by Air India and which already operates the Boeing 777s in its fleet. The two planes are expected to arrive in India by the middle of next year to commence the VVIP duties. Indian Air Force officials regularly visit the Boeing facility where they are briefed about the latest facilities added in the aircraft and its progress.

According to sources, due to the presence of the sophisticated equipment including missile protection suites and ownership by the Indian Air Force, the planes will have military classification. In a notification to the Congress this year, the American Defence Security Cooperation Agency said the missile defence system deal worth USD 190 million would facilitate a more robust capability into areas of increased missile threats.

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Aircraft Amendment Bill, 2019

The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 11, has given its approval to introduce the Aircraft (Amendment) Bill, 2019 for carrying out amendments to the Aircraft Act, 1934. The bill will soon be introduced in the Parliament.

The bill increases the maximum limit of fine from the existing Rs. Ten lakhs to Rs. One Crore. It also builds a greater scope of the Aircraft Act to include regulation of all areas of Air Navigation.

The amendments would fulfill the needs of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO). It will enable the three regulatory bodies in the Civil Aviation sector in India, consisting of Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Bureau of Civil Aviation Security and Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau to become more effective, which will enhance the level of safety and security of aircraft operations in India.

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(With inputs from ANI)