Chennai: President Ram Nath Kovind reached Chennai today on the Air India One-B777 aircraft’s inaugural flight.
He was received at the Chennai airport by Tamilnadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit and Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami.
Kovind was on his way to Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh to offer prayers at the Lord Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple.
“This is the first flight of the Air India One-B777 aircraft with the head of State on board. The aircraft is fuel efficient and has a longer range than the B747-400 that are deployed for similar VVIP operations,” an official statement said.
Earlier, Rashtrapati Bhavan tweeted, “President Kovind boards the Air India One- B777 aircraft for inaugural flight to Chennai. The President will be visiting Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh to offer prayers at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple.”
Air India One is the call sign for the VVIP aircraft used by the President, Vice President and Prime Minister.
The aircraft has state-of-the-art interiors with reduced noise levels. The B777 planes will have state-of-the-art missile defence systems called Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) and Self-Protection Suites (SPS).