Austria’s meticulous plans for evacuating its citizens from Israel using a military aircraft on Wednesday faced an unexpected setback when its sole available C-130 Hercules encountered a technical malfunction, prompting the country to secure seats on a commercial flight for the evacuation.
Austria had announced its intention to initiate evacuations to Cyprus on Wednesday utilizing one of its aging C-130 aircraft, which, while being the largest in its fleet, also happen to be among the oldest, having been in service since the 1960s. The government is in the process of replacing these aircraft as they near retirement.
However, as the aircraft was preparing to depart from Austria to Israel on Wednesday morning, an issue emerged when smoke was detected in the part of the aircraft where passengers would have been seated, rendering takeoff impossible. Subsequently, the plane was taken in for repairs.
As it became evident that the aircraft would not be able to depart on the same day, the Foreign Ministry disclosed that it had booked 100 seats on an Israir Airlines flight bound for the Cypriot airport of Larnaca, scheduled to land at 9 p.m. (1800 GMT).
The incident prompted questions regarding the necessity of a military evacuation when commercial flights were readily available, shedding light on the challenging state of Austria’s armed forces. The neutral country has long neglected investment in military equipment, and its military personnel have expressed concerns about the military’s preparedness to defend Austria in the event of an attack. The conservative-led government has stated its commitment to addressing these concerns.
When questioned about why neither of Austria’s other C-130 Hercules aircraft had been used instead of the one that broke down, Defence Ministry spokesman Michael Bauer explained to Puls 24 TV, “Both Hercules aircraft are currently undergoing maintenance – one until March, and the other until December.”
