Prabowo Uses Private Jet For Official Visit, A-001 Becomes Reserve Aircraft

Head of the Presidential Communication Office, Hasan Nasbi, explained that the Presidential Aircraft A-001 now serves as a backup of President Prabowo Subianto's private plane which is still being used for official and state visits.

President Prabowo is known to still use a private jet with registration number PK-GRD, which he has used since serving as Minister of Defense in the era of the Advanced Indonesia Cabinet.

"This plane is the same design to become a backup aircraft. So if a private plane is on maintenance, this aircraft can be used with the same design. People will still recognize it as the Presidential Aircraft of the Republic of Indonesia," Hasan said when quoted from ANTARA, Tuesday, May 20.

Previously, the Presidential A-001 aircraft had a dominant red pattern, stretched from the license to the tail of the aircraft, and used by the 7th President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo for state purposes.

Now, the appearance of the aircraft has been changed to a white majority, accompanied by a red line at the top and bottom of the window, resembling the design of President Prabowo's private jet.

The skill of the line at the top is thicker than the one below. The writing 'Indonesian Republic' was also changed to black with a different type of letter from before.

Hasan emphasized that the design naming between the two aircraft was intended so that the public would still recognize the visual characteristics of the Presidential Aircraft, both when used by main aircraft and reserves.

"The design is made similar so that it doesn't have different colors, but the plane is known as the Presidential Aircraft," he said.

Changes in the design of the Presidential Aircraft A-001 were observed when the plane was parked next to PK-GRD at Halim Perdanakusuma Air Force Base, Jakarta, on Wednesday, April 14.