Germany to retire two govt planes after minister stranded in Abu Dhabi

Germany will decommission two ageing Airbus 340 government planes as soon as possible after Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was stranded with one in Abu Dhabi due to safety issues, an air force spokesperson said on Tuesday.

As a result of the incident, the planes will be taken out of service in the coming weeks, bringing forward their planned decommissioning from September 2023 and the end of 2024, respectively, the spokesperson added.

Baerbock cancelled her planned week-long trip to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji on Tuesday after being forced to return to Abu Dhabi twice due to a technical malfunction with the wing flaps following a refuelling stop there.

Her A340 was still parked in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday morning.

The incident was the latest of several that have caused Berlin to overhaul and modernise its government fleet.

In 2018, former Chancellor Angela Merkel missed the opening of the G20 summit in Argentina over a “serious malfunction” that forced her A340 government plane to make an unscheduled landing.

Going forward, the air force will rely on its “robust and modern” fleet of A350 long-haul aircraft to replace the retired A340, the spokesperson said.

He was referring to two A350s already in the service of the Luftwaffe’s VIP squadron, while a third one is being retrofitted for government use by the industry.

A spokesperson of the defence ministry did not respond on Monday to questions regarding the age of the retired planes.