IAF Gears Up To Fly VVIPs

Two well-equipped Boeing 777s will be out for the service in August, Air India to ‘co-pilot’ operations

- Poulomi Saha and Abhishek Bhalla

The Indian Air Force (IAF) is getting ready to fly the country’s top three dignitaries — the President, the Vice-President, and the Prime Minister.

Unlike in the past, when both the IAF and the national carrier Air India would fly the three VVIPs, henceforth it will only be the former that will be engaged in these services. This could possibly be because of plans to disinvest Air India, some sources suggested on Friday.

India Today TV has learnt that the IAF will be operating the two newly refurbished Boeing 777 that will be commissioned for VVIP services in August. The new aircraft were expected to be commissioned by July, but they were delayed due to the Covid19 outbreak. Initially, Air India pilots will be flying alongside Air Force pilots as only the AI pilots have spent man-hours on the wide-bodied airliner.