“Luftwaffe not Lufthansa”: Union criticizes Lambrecht’s helicopter flight with his son

“Luftwaffe not Lufthansa”
Union criticizes Lambrecht’s helicopter flight with his son

Defense Minister Lambrecht uses the government helicopter for an official flight to Schleswig-Holstein – but her son is also on board, with whom she then goes on holiday to Sylt. Everything legal, the ministry assures. But there is criticism from the opposition.

The Union faction has accused Federal Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht of the SPD of a political error because of a flight with her son with the ministry’s readiness to fly. “Using the Bundeswehr for private and party-political purposes is unstylish,” said the first parliamentary manager of the Union faction, Thorsten Frei from the CDU, the “Bild” newspaper. “As the holder of the power to command and command, the Minister of Defense should show more sensitivity and not confuse the Air Force with Lufthansa.”

Lambrecht had traveled from Berlin to Ladelund in Schleswig-Holstein on Wednesday before Easter, accompanied by her son in a government helicopter. There she visited the Battalion Electronic Warfare 911. After that she went on holiday to Sylt with her son.

The Federal Ministry of Defense had rejected the report by “Business Insider” about the son’s possibly illegal flight. The minister had applied for a ride in a government helicopter and “accepted 100 percent of the costs in accordance with the guideline,” said a spokesman.

Ministry: Lambrecht determines accompanying persons

As Minister of Defense, Lambrecht is entitled to make requests for aircraft that are ready to fly if the trip is carried out in the course of an official activity, and determines the persons accompanying them “who have to bear different cost rates depending on the federal interest,” said the spokesman for the ministry. And: “Flight and reimbursement of costs therefore took place in full compliance with the guidelines for the use of aircraft of the BMVg flight readiness.”

According to “Business Insider”, there have already been other trips by the son. The chair of the defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann from the FDP, said on the Welt television channel that she could not yet comment on it, but that it was an unusual event. Strack-Zimmermann: “I can’t judge what kind of flight that was, whether the minister was on the road anyway. The whole thing isn’t really correct, we all know that.” She assumes that the minister can explain the case.

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