MEP stranded in Niger
Cracks in the windshield: government plane does not take off
6/2/2023 7:59 p.m
Damage to the plane thwarts Parliamentary State Secretary Möller. The SPD MP was actually supposed to return to Berlin after visiting troops in Mali and Niger. How things will continue for you and your delegation is still unclear.
Parliamentary State Secretary Siemtje Möller is stranded in Niger, West Africa, because of cracks in the windscreen of her government plane. A spokesman for the Air Force confirmed a corresponding “Spiegel” report. The SPD politician Möller is traveling with a Global 6000, the smallest aircraft of the Bundeswehr flight readiness service with only 17 seats.
The Parliamentary State Secretary in the Ministry of Defense actually wanted to return to Berlin from Niamey, the capital of Niger, today, Friday, after a three-day visit to the troops in Mali and Niger. It is still unclear what will happen next. In the late afternoon it was checked whether Möller would be provided with a replacement machine or whether she would return to Germany on a scheduled flight.
The “Spiegel” reported that technicians suspected heat damage. The machine had been at the airport since early Wednesday afternoon. In Niamey the temperatures are currently around 40 degrees in the shade. It can get as hot as 60 degrees Celsius on the runway.
In the past, government politicians have repeatedly been stranded with Luftwaffe aircraft. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock had double bad luck on her trip to the Arabian Peninsula two weeks ago. The outward flight from Berlin to Saudi Arabia was delayed by two hours due to a technical defect. Her return flight from Qatar to Berlin was delayed 17 hours due to a flat tire.
However, the readiness to fly has received a number of new machines of different types in recent years. The Global 6000 has been used for VIP flights since 2019.