Round-the-world solar plane starts next leg after escaping red tape tangle

Solar Impulse 2 has reportedly taken off on the next leg of its epic bid to become the first plane to fly around the world powered solely by the sun - after being delayed for days due to red tape. Before taking off the pilot launched an angry attack on Indian bureaucracy after a lengthy hold-up in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state. Bertrand Piccard, the Swiss pilot of Solar Impulse 2, said the aircraft’s take-off from Ahmedabad city in the western state of Gujarat was delayed by five days because of tedious paperwork. The plane landed in Ahmedabad last Tuesday from the Omani capital Muscat after completing an initial sea crossing.

I’m not here to accuse anybody. I just say that for the last five days we are trying to get all the stamps and every day (they) say tomorrow. We are desperate to get all the stamps and we still have stamps missing.

Pilot Bertrand Piccard, speaking before take-off

Piccard’s comments risk embarrassing Modi, who has vowed to cut bureaucratic red tape in promised reforms to revive India’s economy after storming to power at general elections last May. Modi, who was the chief minister of Gujarat before becoming premier, wants to attract more foreign companies who have long complained of encountering bureaucratic nightmares in India. The team behind Solar Impulse 2, which has more than 17,000 solar cells built into its wings, hopes to promote green energy with the circumnavigation attempt. Ridiculed by the aviation industry when it was first unveiled, the venture has since been hailed by UN chief Ban Ki-moon. Muscat was the first of 12 planned stops on the plane’s journey around the world from Abu Dhabi, with a total flight time of around 25 days spread over five months.

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