The world from Modi's window seat: Tracking PM's flight around the planet!

India Today

10-07-2025

Prime Minister Narendra Modi just completed his longest foreign trip in a decade. He visited five nations in Africa and South America in nine days.
Starting from New Delhi on July 2, he flew to Ghana, Trinidad & Tobago, Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia, returning home on July 10.
The PM's meetings and events on the ground have been widely covered. But what did his journey look like in the sky? What must Modi have seen from his window?
India Today Fact Check tracked the PM's plane throughout the trip, using tools like FlightRadar24, FlightAware, and ADSBexchange.
Here's what you would have seen if you were travelling with PM Modi across three continents!
Modi flew 40,892 kilometres in total. That's more than the circumference of the planet! This means that if Modi would have flown in a straight line over Earth's centre, he would have finished a full circle.
The PM departed early in the morning on July 2 from New Delhi in his custom-made Boeing 777-300ER. The flight is called INDIA ONE, which was also its call sign during this trip (the number through which a flight is identified in air).
This state-of-the-art plane has been specially designed and includes facilities like a VVIP suite, two conference rooms, a press briefing room, a medical room, and secure communications system.
The aircraft is fitted with sophisticated missile defence systems. It also has an air-to-air refuelling facility, allowing for long seamless flights across the globe.
On the way to Ghana, Modi's flight flew over Lake Victoria, the second biggest freshwater lake in the world, which is bigger than the entire country of Sri Lanka!
Lake Victoria was NOT the only huge water body Modi must have seen from his plane's window. In fact, his plane flew over seas and oceans for 23 hours in total during the nine days. His total flight time was almost 46 hours.
That means his plane flew over waves for half the journey.
The first leg of Modi's journey from New Delhi to Ghana's capital Accra was also the longest.
He reached Accra in the afternoon (local time) after flying non-stop for 11 hours, covering almost 10,000 kilometres.
Notably, his flight took a much longer route avoiding the air spaces of Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, and Chad. As a result, he had to fly 1500 kilometers extra. Pakistan, Iran, and Sudan are troubled areas.
From Accra, Modi flew to Port of Spain, the capital of Trinidad and Tobago the following day.
Trinidad and Tobago, the two main islands in the country, are in the southernmost part of the Caribbean.
This was the first visit to the South American island nation by an Indian Prime Minister in 25 years.
Modi became the first foreign leader to receive the Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the nation's highest civilian honour.
The next stop was Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina.
He arrived at Ezeiza International Airport on Friday evening (local time) and was given a ceremonial welcome.
PM Modi's visit was the first 'bilateral visit' by an Indian PM in 57 years. He was conferred the Key to the City of Buenos Aires.
He had previously visited the country in 2018 to attend the G20 Summit.
From the land of Messi, Modi hopped over to Brazil, the land of Neymar Jr.
In Rio de Janeiro, Modi attended the biggest event of this trip, the BRICS Summit.
At the end of the Summit, the BRICS chair was handed over to India, which will host the 18th Summit in 2026.
From Rio, one the most famous tourist destinations in the world, Modi went to Brazil's capital Brasilia for a bilateral meet.
There, President Lula da Silva, who had only recently discovered Modi is vegetarian, made a lighthearted remark about selling cheese to India.
He said: 'Arrange a box of cheese. I want it on the table, so he (Modi) never complains about Brazilian food and, who knows, maybe he'll start buying Brazilian cheese.'
Early on July 9, Modi arrived in Windhoek in his first ever visit to Namibia.
Modi was conferred with Namibia's highest civilian award, the Order of the Most Ancient Welwitschia Mirabilis by President Nandi-Ndaitwah.
Namibia became the first country globally to sign a licensing agreement to adopt India's UPI.
From Namibia, his last destination on this trip, Modi left for India on July 9 evening, reaching India early on July 10 at 8.14 am.
This journey took almost 10 hours, covering a distance of 8,700 kilometres.
Throughout the trip, his double-jet aircraft soared roughly at a height of 36,000 feet, at an average speed of around 1,000 kilometres per hour.