President Pranab Mukherjee will now board another plane and resume the journey to Chennai to pay his last respects to late Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa after an Indian Air Force plane carrying the President to Chennai returned mid-way due to a technical snag.
Within 30 minutes of take-off from the Palam Technical Area, the aircraft developed a technical problem and returned to base, sources said.
The aircraft had reached Agra when the snag was detected. IAF sources later said that there was a “minor technical” snag and the plane had to return as per standard operation procedure.
Sources said there was a problem with one of the filters.
Officials said it will take 40 minutes to one hour for the President to be air-borne again.
They added that alternative plane had been arranged but the technical snag has been rectified and the same aircraft will now fly him to Chennai.