2023-08-15 13:03:42
After breakdowns in the government plane of Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, the Bundeswehr is taking two planes out of service early. In the future, instead of the A340 type aircraft, newer A350s will be used for long-haul routes, as a spokesman for the Air Force announced today.
Baerbock had to interrupt her trip to the Pacific region because of the defects on the way and traveled back to Germany by scheduled flight.
IMAGO/photothek/Florian Gaertner
Same defect twice
The same defect had occurred twice on her A340 within two days. After takeoff in Abu Dhabi, where the machine was refueled for the long trip to Australia, the landing flaps could not be retracted.
Baerbock initially considered flying to Sydney on a scheduled flight and making at least part of her appointments. However, she later wrote on Twitter (X): “We have tried everything: Unfortunately, it is logistically impossible to continue my Indo-Pacific journey without the broken plane. It’s more than annoying.”
Decommissioning was not planned until the end of 2024
The Bundeswehr’s flight readiness service has two A340 aircraft that were bought second-hand from Lufthansa in 2011. One of them was actually supposed to be discarded in September, the Baerbock plane at the end of 2024. Now the Bundeswehr prefers that.
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