The German Foreign Minister found herself stranded in Abu Dhabi on Monday, as a recurring technical issue with her government aircraft — the latest in a series of such occurrences — compelled the plane to return to the airport instead of continuing its journey to Australia.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock’s scheduled arrival in Canberra on Monday evening, marking the commencement of her visit to Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, was thwarted by a mechanical glitch afflicting her German air force Airbus A340. This complication forced the aircraft to reverse course and return to Abu Dhabi following a refueling stop, attributed to a “mechanical problem with the landing flaps,” according to ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer’s post on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Just moments after takeoff from Abu Dhabi, the pilot identified the issue, leading the plane to execute a safe landing approximately two hours later. The plane had to jettison around 80 tons of fuel during this process, as reported by the German news agency dpa.
The German air force, as reported on X, is exerting significant effort to expedite the resolution of the issue, aiming to facilitate the delegation’s uninterrupted travel.
This incident marks the latest in a series of challenges involving Germany’s government planes, some of which are aging and have affected various high-ranking officials. In a parallel occurrence in May, Baerbock’s trip to the Persian Gulf region was extended by a day due to a damaged tire on an aircraft during her stay in Qatar.
The aircraft used by Baerbock for her Australia-bound flight was previously involved in a 2018 event that resulted in former Chancellor Angela Merkel and then-Finance Minister Olaf Scholz experiencing a delayed departure to a Group of 20 summit in Argentina. The aircraft had encountered an issue with an electrical distributor box, impacting the radio and fuel systems. This necessitated a return to Cologne-Bonn airport with a substantial amount of fuel intended for the trans-Atlantic journey still onboard.
In response to these recurring problems, the government has acted to acquire three new A350 jets, with two already operational.
