(Ottawa) The plane carrying Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to Jamaica for a family vacation broke down earlier this week, prompting the Canadian military to deploy a second plane with a repair team for the aircraft. Caribbean island.
Published yesterday at 10:21 p.m.
A Defense Department spokeswoman said a maintenance problem was discovered on the Royal Canadian Air Force's CC-144 Challenger on Tuesday, before Mr. Trudeau returned to Canada.
The Canadian Armed Forces sent a second aircraft and a maintenance team to Jamaica, which were able to resolve the problem on Wednesday in time for the prime minister, who is unable to take commercial flights for security reasons, to return home aboard the original plane.
This is the second time in several months that aircraft problems have kept Mr. Trudeau in another country. Last September, the CC-150 Polaris aircraft was stuck in India for two days due to technical problems.
When asked about the causes of the Challenger's problems in Jamaica, the government did not provide any information.
After saying last month that the family was paying for their stay in Jamaica, the Prime Minister's Office clarified this week that they were staying for free at a property owned by family friends.
The Prime Minister's Office also stated that the Federal Ethics Commissioner was consulted on these aspects before the trip and that the family would reimburse the public the amount that a commercial flight would have cost.