Baerbock stranded
Air Force prematurely phased-out government jets
08/15/2023 10:16 am
The A340 government aircraft in which Foreign Minister Baerbock was flying to Australia failed twice within 24 hours. Because the defect cannot be remedied even with a stopover, the minister has to cancel her trip to the Pacific. Now the Air Force is reacting.
After the breakdown of the government plane of Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on the trip to the Pacific region, the Air Force took action. The government jet of the Bundeswehr’s readiness to fly will be retired early. “We will decommission the two A340s as soon as possible, that is, in the coming weeks,” said a spokesman for the Air Force.
The two A340 government jets were originally scheduled to be decommissioned later. While one should be retired this fall, the plane that Baerbock was on should actually fly until the end of 2024, according to the “Funke” newspapers. However, a replacement has already been arranged. “With the A350, robust and modern aircraft are available for the flight readiness for long-haul routes,” the spokesman continued.
The plane stranded in Abu Dhabi yesterday with Baerbock, who was en route to Australia. The Foreign Minister had to make a longer stopover there because of a defect in the landing flaps. Hours later, the machine took off for a test flight, which was uneventful. However, with the returned passengers on board, the defect reappeared. 15 minutes after take-off at 1 a.m. local time, the Airbus A340-300 veered off course and initially flew back towards Abu Dhabi. The machine climbed at the beginning, but didn’t pick up any speed. Baerbock then canceled her planned one-week Pacific trip at the last minute.
“It’s more than annoying,” Baerbock wrote on the social network X. “We’ve tried everything: unfortunately it’s logistically impossible to continue my Indo-Pacific trip without the broken plane.” The Green politician now wants to take a scheduled flight back to Berlin. In doing so, she has to accept a detour – just like many members of her delegation. Baerbock’s exact route for the return journey has not been published for security reasons.