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New Delhi: Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau finally left India on Tuesday, September 12, 2023, after damage to his plane forced him to extend his visit to New Delhi for the G20 summit by two days.

Trudeau arrived in India to attend leaders’ meeting G20 Friday last week, and was scheduled to return to Canada on Sunday after laying a wreath at the Mahatma Gandhi memorial.

However, technical problems were detected during pre-flight checks, leading to the grounding of the Prime Minister’s plane by the Canadian Armed Forces. Trudeau and his entire delegation also had to extend their visit to New Delhi.

Air traffic monitoring site Flight radar24 shows that the Royal Canadian Air Force CFC01 plane took off from New Delhi airport on Tuesday, around 1:00 p.m. local time (07:30 GMT).

Trudeau’s press secretary, Mohammad Hussain, confirmed to the news agency AFP that the Canadian G20 delegation was on board the plane.

Canadian television station Connected TV says Airbus CC-150 has records operational problems.

As Trudeau no longer has diplomatic relations with the Indian government, he is staying in a hotel with his son Xavier, 16, according to media reports.

India-Canada tensions

Trudeau’s presence at the G20 summit was more discreet than that of some of his G7 counterparts, and came amid tensions between the Canadian and Indian governments over Ottawa’s handling of right-wing Sikh separatists.

New Delhi has accused Ottawa of turning a blind eye to the activities of a Sikh nationalist group seeking to declare an independent homeland in northern India.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed “deep concerns over the continued activities of anti-Indian extremist elements in Canada” during a meeting with Trudeau, according to an Indian government statement.

Canada also recently suspended negotiations on a free trade agreement with India.

Responding to India’s complaints, Trudeau later told media that Canada would always defend “freedom of expression, freedom of conscience and freedom of peaceful protest” while continuing to act against hatred.