The Foreign Minister had actually wanted to be in Australia for a long time. But their government machine repeatedly causes problems – and has to turn around again. Now it’s back to Berlin on a scheduled flight.
After the repeated breakdowns with her government aircraft, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is now canceling her planned one-week visit to the Pacific region. The surprising decision was made in the morning.
Baerbock has now started the return flight to Germany by scheduled aircraft. She flew out of Dubai Airport at noon together with part of her delegation. However, Baerbock’s exact route for the return journey has not been published for security reasons.
The Bundeswehr draws consequences from the breakdown. The two A340 aircraft will be retired early, a spokesman for the Air Force confirmed. The “Spiegel” and the Funke media group had previously reported that the planned retirement would be brought forward.
“We will prematurely decommission the two A340s as soon as possible, that is, in the coming weeks,” said a spokesman. According to previous plans, the two Airbus A340s should be retired in September 2023 and at the end of 2024. Instead, the existing, more modern A350 will be used for long-haul routes in the future.
Onward travel by scheduled flight is not possible
“We have checked and planned to the last, but unfortunately it was no longer possible to logistically present the planned travel stations of the Indo-Pacific trip after the failure of the flight readiness aircraft with the options still available,” said a spokesman for the Federal Foreign Office. The Green politician was originally expected to visit Australia, New Zealand and the island republic of Fiji.
According to information from her delegation, Baerbock should have taken a scheduled flight from the capital of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi, with her entourage directly to the Australian metropolis of Sydney in the morning because of the defective Air Force machine. But that obviously turned out to be impractical.
Baerbock: cancellation of the trip “more than annoying”
Baerbock has expressed anger after the surprising decision. “We have tried everything: unfortunately it is not logistically possible to continue my Indo-Pacific trip without the broken plane. It is more than annoying,” she wrote on the online platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
“In the Indo-Pacific we not only have close #friends and #partners. The region will decisively shape the #world order of the 21st century,” added Baerbock. “That’s why the content and personal exchange is so important.”
That night, Baerbock’s delegation and the journalists traveling with them were asked to meet in the hotel lobby at 8:00 a.m. for departure for the airport. The decision to cancel the trip, which came as a complete surprise at the time, was only made when the entire entourage was already standing in the lobby, ready to leave.
Delegation speaks of a difficult decision
The delegation spoke of a difficult decision in the end. “It’s all very unfortunate,” it said. In the coming months it will be important to repair the damage caused. High-ranking officials are expected to travel to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji for talks and important appointments. The canceled trip must be reworked. The Indo-Pacific remains a priority for the federal government.
Due to a defect in the landing flaps of the Airbus A340-300, Baerbock had to make a longer stopover in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates yesterday. Hours later, after a test run, the machine took off again – and had to turn back for the same reason.
Source: Stern
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