Air India customises aircraft to pay a special homage
NEW DELHI : National carrier Air I ndi a has p a i d t r i b ut e to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary by painting his image on an Airbus A320 aircraft. The 11 ft x 4.9 ft Gandhi image is depicted on the tail of the aircraft.
The aircraft was painted at the airline’s hangar based at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGI). The airline will operate this aircraft between Mumbai and Delhi on Wednesday and its first flight for the day is expected to take off from Delhi at around 1pm. After landing at Mumbai at around 3.30pm, the aircraft will continue with its scheduled departures.
Air India spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar said, “By having one aircraft permanently painted with Mahatma Gandhi’s image, the national carrier has gone a step ahead in paying tribute to him on his 150th jayanti.”
“The entire work has been done by in-house (by the airline’s maintenance team of A320) after taking all the required approvals had been taken,” he added.
Ashwani Lohani, chairman and managing director of Air India has decided to paint each model of aircraft - Boeing B747, B777, B787, Airbus A320 and ATR - with Gandhi logo in next fifteen days, airline’s official spokesperson said. A total of five aircraft will be painted by the national carrier. The Indian Railways is also celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation by painting his picture on its diesel locomotives. It has been done by the Central Railways zone.
Gandhi’s photo has been painted in the backdrop of the national flag and the work started around two months ago. In all, 22 locomotives have been painted.
Shri Chintan Donde, master craftsman and painter at the diesel loco shed in Kalyan, is leading a team in painting the locomotives.
“Mahatma Gandhiji or Bapu is the Father of the Nation who gave us the concept of Swachhata and “Ahimsa”. Through these paintings, We, on behalf of Central Railway, have paid tribute to the Mahatma,” livemint quoted Donde as saying.