It is a previous experience for the Prime Minister after his plane crashed during his family vacation in Jamaica, the second incident of its kind in months.

The Department of National Defence (DND) said a Challenger plane was sent to Jamaica this week to support Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his family, who arrived in the Caribbean country on December 26, and the second plane included a maintenance team.

Andrée-Anne Boulé, spokesperson for the federal ministry, explained in a statement, "A maintenance issue was discovered on the CC-144 plane during an inspection on January 2, before the Prime Minister's scheduled departure."

Boulé added: "A maintenance team and plane were then sent, and they returned the plane to service on January 3. The plane remained in the area as backup support if necessary, and the Prime Minister was able to return on the original plane."

Publicly available flight tracking sites show that Challenger flight CFC001, which is the number used when the Prime Minister flies, departed Montego Bay, Jamaica on January 4 and landed in Ottawa at 8:56 PM.

Flight data also shows that a second Challenger plane was sent to Montego Bay from Ottawa on January 3. The same plane took off less than 24 hours later, landing back in Ottawa on January 4 at 9:17 PM.

The second Challenger CFC001 left Montego Bay on January 4 and landed in Ottawa at 8:56 PM.

Trudeau had left for Jamaica on December 26 to spend a holiday with his immediate family, including Sophie Grégoire Trudeau. He was always scheduled to return on January 4.

This is not the first time the Prime Minister's plane has broken down while he was abroad. In September, the larger Canadian government plane CC-150 Polaris was stopped shortly before takeoff, stranding the Prime Minister, his accompanying delegation, and traveling media for an additional two nights in India.

The plane was stopped after a problem was detected during pre-flight checks, and an RCAF technician carrying a part necessary to repair the grounded plane was flown to India from Canada. A backup plane and crew were also sent in case of such an event.

The Prime Minister does not travel on commercial flights for security reasons.

The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had earlier said Trudeau would "reimburse the equivalent" of a commercial airline ticket for his personal travel and that of his family.

The Trudeau family also traveled to Jamaica for the Christmas holiday in 2022 on a trip that cost about $160,000 due to travel, security, and staff costs.

The Project Management Office says both trips were approved by the Office of the Ethics Commissioner.