Ho Chi Minh City - US President George W Bush was scheduled to travel to Indonesia Monday after a minor technical problem with Air Force One appeared to have been fixed in time for his departure from Vietnam.
A Bush spokesman said the specifically-configured Boeing 747-200B known as Air Force One had a problem with one of its tyres in Ho Chi Minh City, but the problem appeared to have been solved.
The US television network CBS quoted US Air Force officials as saying they expected the tyre problem to be fixed in time for the president`s departure later Monday for Indonesia. After a six-hour stop in Jakarta he will fly on to Hawaii.
Earlier officials said the president would fly on a backup aircraft if the main presidential plane was not repaired in time.
Although the president`s primary plane, a flying command centre, is commonly known as Air Force One, the title actually follows him onto any US Air Force aircraft on which he flies, including the backup jumbo jet.
After attending the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hanoi, Bush was visiting Ho Chi Minh City - formerly Saigon.