NEW DELHI: Amid persisting speculation that India was preparing to get hold of a high-value fugitive, Air India is learnt to have got the DGCA nod to operate a Boeing 787-8 for the special non-stop flight from Delhi to Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago.The aviation regulator’s nod comes amid strong buzz that India’s efforts to get hold of one high-profile economic offender holed up abroad may have resulted in a breakthrough, though there was no official confirmation.The airline deploys the B787 Dreamliner on medium-haul routes from Delhi to Europe, Japan and Australia . For long-haul flights, it uses the Boeing 777 aircraft that fly non-stop to both the east and west coasts of America.Therefore, AI required clearance from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for using the medium-range Dreamliner on the ultra-long range (ULR) non-stop flight to the Caribbean. The special flight is learnt to have been allowed with 13 cabin crew members and three sets of pilots — three captains and as many co-pilots — who will take turns to operate after resting during the flight. The same drill is followed on AI’s Delhi-San Francisco and Mumbai-New York ULR routes.While the actual flying time will be determined by winds on the day of the flight, it is estimated that the flight from Delhi to Port of Spain will take 16.5 to 17 hours. After landing, the crew will have to be given 12 hours of rest — which is counted from the time they enter their hotel room and till they check out. So the total stopover as per crew requirement in Port of Spain will be 14.5 hours, with 2.5 hours being considered as time for the two-way commute between the airport and hotel.AI is learnt have zeroed in on its senior pilots for the flight. Since the 256-seater (18 in business and 238 economy) aircraft will have in all less than 45 people on board (including six pilots and 13 cabin crew members) and very little cargo-hold baggage, the aircraft will be tanked up for operating the almost 14,000-km Delhi-Port of Spain non-stop flight.Sources say AI’s request was cleared by the regulator without any doubt as it is the only Indian airline that has been operating ULR flights for decades. The Delhi-San Francisco flight it started almost four years ago is one of the longest non-stop flights in the world in terms of the distance as it takes the Pacific route on its way back to Delhi to get tailwinds and cut down on fuel burn.