Inside Air India One Aircraft
Air India One : The Official Aircraft of Prime Minister of India
Air India One is actually the call sign of the aircraft used when Prime Minister Of India is one board on any aircraft. Currently, The Prime Minister of India travels on Boeing 747-400 aircraft owned by Air India and operated by Indian Air Force for overseas travel. Apart from this there is one more Boeing 747 as standby aircraft, four Embraer 135 aircraft and three Boeing Business Jet also in the fleet for VVIP flying movements which caters domestic and nearby country visits.
Three Boeing were specially designed and procured for Prime Minister and President each and keeping one aircraft as standby aircraft. The name of these three aircraft are Rajdoot,Rajhans and Rajkamal.
There is a panel of eight pilots who are always prepared to fly the VVIP anywhere across the Globe. Once, a flight is scheduled, one among it is pulled and configured with a VVIP type setting which includes a satellite phone, fax.internet etc and other necessities. Once the configuration is complete, the plane is taken over by personnel from Special Protection Group (SPG) for security checking and safety purpose as each and every inch of the plane including the fuel and water is scanned before being filled . SPG is tasked with PM’s security with the flight being monitored from Air Force Station in Palam.
Security Features of Air India One :
These Boeing and Embraer aircraft are not ordinary aircraft. All these aircraft has the capability of self defence. Air India One is very advanced and has following capabilities :
- Radar Warning Receivers : When Air India One gets missile lock, it will give a aural warning in the cockpit similar to fighter aircraft.
- Missile Approach Warning System : It detects attacking missiles and warns the pilot for taking defensive maneuver
- Flares & Chaff : Flares are high-temperature heat sources ejected from aircraft that mislead heat-sensitive or heat-seeking missiles.
- Intruder Detection System : An intrusion detection system (IDS) inspects all inbound and outbound network activity and identifies suspicious patterns that may indicate a network or system attack from someone attempting to break into or compromise a system
- Automatic External Defibrillator :An automated external defibrillator (AED) is a portable device that automatically diagnoses the life-threatening cardiac arrhythmias of ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia in a patient.
Facilities on board Air India One :
Air India One has got a VVIP suite specially procured from Boeing . Air India One has a special lounge for six people a big conference room with satellite phone.There are 34 business class seats for media persons on board Air India One. Guests are served with lavish food and drinks of their wish. It has got private office and bedroom on board.The cost of the these aircraft is more than 200 crores for each aircraft.
Apart from wide range of food and beverage menu to choose from, the flyer in the VVIP also have an area demarcated for smoking which usually is at the back of the plane.These are some of the perks which money can’t buy in the world.
In 1988 Pakistani dictator Zia-ul-Haq died in a plane crash under mysterious circumstances. It is widely believed that the pilots of his plane were incapicated with the help of chemicals which were allegedly planted inside the panels of the cockpit. After the incident, security agencies around the world started checking each and every panels and switches, etc to scan of any wrongdoing.
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Great Article..!!
Great Aircraft…!! Wish to see it once..!
Security Features are old …!! There are far more features on Air Force One..!
Air Force One is the safest aircraft in the world..!
Pl do not compare Air Force One with AI – 1…..the dynamics are totally different
There is lot of space where Air India One could improve..!
I was in air India as a trainee,Air India has only 3 airworthy B747’s and I have seen d same b747-400 which is used for Jeddah and Riyadh routes coming in for security checks of d entire aircraft and leave d next day. Does this mean that when it is not used as airindia1 the passengers experience all these comfort??? Omg air India should be a world class airline then…
By the way there are only these 3 b747’s as a total in India. U can refer the website of DGCA
Well, regular B747 gets converted into VIP fitment whenever it needs to be used as Air Force 1.