Solar-powered aircraft extends stopover due to bad weather

Ahmedabad: Solar-powered aircraft 'Solar Impulse-2', which has made a stop-over here during its round-the-world trip, is likely to stay here until Tuesday due to bad climatic conditions, officials said here on Friday.

"The aircraft will remain at the city airport until Tuesday due to bad weather conditions," Sardar Vallabhbhai International Airport director RK Singh said.

The Solar Impulse-2 project team also tweeted that departure of the aircraft has been postponed for two more days later than its scheduled departure on Sunday.

"D-4 (departure minus four) before RTW (Round the world) Flight 3 from Ahmedabad to Varanasi, India," said Solar Impulse-2 on its Twitter handle.

Gujarat has been witnessing cloudy atmosphere and untimely rains in many parts of the state including Ahmedabad since yesterday.

The world's only completely solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse-2 landed in the city on Tuesday. The Swiss pilot Bertrand Piccard, president of the project, led the flight from Muscat to Ahmedabad on its second leg.

His co-pilot and CEO of the project Andre Borschberg is also in the city to spread the message of clean and renewable energy.