2023-08-14 13:51:00
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has again been slowed down by a government plane that broke down. Due to a technical defect in the take-off flaps, the Green politician was initially unable to continue her flight to a week-long visit to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. In the course of Monday, it should be checked how and when the journey to Australia can continue.
After a routine stopover to refuel in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, the Airbus A340-300 of the Bundeswehr’s flight readiness department took off as planned early Monday morning. However, just three minutes after take-off at 3:33 am local time (1:33 am CEST), the flight captain registered a defect when retracting the take-off flaps. After the crew had drained around 80 tons of kerosene from the fully fueled aircraft during a two-hour flight maneuver over the desert emirate and the sea, Baerbock and her delegation landed safely back in Abu Dhabi at 5:33 a.m. local time.
Baerbock plans to continue his trip to Australia in the evening
The flight captain reported the problem over the on-board loudspeaker. A spokesman for the Foreign Office later said on board: “Because of a mechanical problem, we have to return to Abu Dhabi for safety reasons.”
Despite the breakdown, the Foreign Minister is sticking to her trip to the Pacific region. “We will probably be able to continue the trip to Australia later in the evening,” it said on Monday afternoon local time from delegation circles in Abu Dhabi. It is currently being checked whether the trip can be continued with the flight service aircraft or whether there is the possibility of a scheduled flight.
It was initially unclear what changes there would be to the travel program planned until Saturday. After Australia, Baerbock also wanted to visit New Zealand and Fiji.
It is not the first time that the Secretary of State has been delayed on her travels. In mid-May, she was stranded in Doha in the desert emirate of Qatar due to tire damage on the government airbus and had to involuntarily extend her trip to the Gulf region by a day.
Merkel and Scholz are also affected by government aircraft breakdowns
There have also been several breakdowns with the Airbus A340-300 with which Baerbock was now traveling to Australia. In November 2018, the then Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) had to board the plane, which was still flying under the name “Konrad Adenauer” at the time, together with the then Finance Minister and current Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on the way to the Reverse G20 Summit in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Among other things, the radio system of the machine, which still flies with the tactical code 16+01 to this day, failed. Because the kerosene discharge did not work either, the plane had to land in Cologne/Bonn several tons over the permitted landing weight. Three of the journalists traveling with Baerbock on Monday were there at the time.
In October 2018, rodents also nibbled on important cables of the “Konrad Adenauer” during a stop in Indonesia. At that time, Scholz returned as finance minister by scheduled flight from the meeting of the International Monetary Fund. In December 2016, then Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen (CDU) got stranded on her way to Mali. Because of a computer problem with her A340 in the Nigerian capital Abuja, she had to stay there overnight.
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