President Kovind takes new Air India One - B777 aircraft for inaugural flight to Chennai

According to a statement released by Rashtrapati Bhavan, President Ram Nath Kovind on Tuesday boarded the first flight of the Air India One-B777 aircraft for Chennai for his visit to the Venkateshwara Swami Temple in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh. Taking to Twitter, the office of the President of India wrote, "President Kovind boards the Air India One- B777 aircraft for the inaugural flight to Chennai. The President will be visiting Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, to offer prayers at the Sri Venkateshwara Swamy Temple." Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswabhusan Harishandanand and Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy will be welcoming the President at the Tirupati airport.

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President Kovind commends Air India and IAF

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While boarding the new aircraft, Ram Nath Kovind commended the pilots, crew members and the entire team of Air India and Indian Air Force (IAF) for operating the state-of-the-art aircraft and facilitating VVIP movements with the country on state visits abroad. Speaking further about President boarding the first flight of the Air India One-B777, Press Secretary to the President Ajay Kumar Singh said, 'This is the first flight of the Air India One - B777 aircraft with the Head of State on board. The custom-made aircraft is fuel-efficient and has longer range than the B747-400 that are deployed for similar VVIP operations. The aircraft has state-of-art interiors with reduced noise levels.'

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Air India One-B777 aircraft 

The two VVIP aircraft Air India One had arrived in India recently. These aircraft are equipped with advanced and secured communication system that enables audio and video communication functions mid-air without any worries of hacking or being taped. These recently arrived VVIP aircraft B-777 is a replacement of wide-body aircraft Boeing B-747 jumbo aircraft whose call sign is Air India One. This new Boeing also comes with advanced defence systems. 

Earlier in October, Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi had attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government over the acquisition of the two Boeing 777 Air India One jets. Pointing towards the questions raised over him while he was participating in the tractor rally against farm bills, Rahul Gandhi said that PM Modi's new Air India One plane which worth more than Rs 8,000 crore is a waste of money and has been bought for his luxury & comfort. Government sources then pointed out how the acquisition had been initiated under the UPA and hinted strongly that their use would not have been limited to the President and Prime Minister.

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(With ANI inputs)