German media: "Reputation for technological prowess" ruined, German Foreign Minister forced to cancel his visit to Berlin due to two malfunctions in his private plane | Bellberg | Cancellation
German Foreign Minister Berber had originally planned to visit Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji in the near future. However, due to two malfunctions of the private plane, Bellberg was forced to cancel his trip to the Pacific.
According to reports from The Guardian and The Financial Times on August 15th, German Foreign Minister Berber took off from Berlin on a special plane in the early hours of the 14th local time. He had originally planned to visit Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji for a week. However, the flaps of the Airbus A340 special plane she boarded were unable to retract properly due to mechanical failure, resulting in the plane being forced to turn back to Abu Dhabi. The special plane then departed again in the early morning of the 15th local time, but had to return to Abu Dhabi after a technical malfunction reappeared.
Bell Burke later posted on the social media platform "X", saying, "We tried everything possible, but unfortunately, logically speaking, I am unable to continue my journey in the Indo Pacific... This is really frustrating."
The German media described this incident as a "shame on Berlin", stating that it could potentially tarnish Germany's technological prowess. In recent years, the German government has encountered a series of embarrassing problems with its private jets. In November 2018, then Chancellor Merkel and Finance Minister Schultz were forced to make an emergency landing on their way to Buenos Aires to attend the G20 summit due to a malfunctioning plane. In May of this year, due to damaged aircraft tires, Berber had to extend his trip in the Persian Gulf region by one day.
The Financial Times reported that Berber took a commercial flight back to Berlin on the 15th and expressed regret for being forced to cancel his trip. According to the original plan, she will hold meetings with leaders from Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji to discuss security issues, climate change, and other issues, return important cultural relics to Australia, and attend the final Women's World Cup held in Sydney.
On the 15th, a spokesperson for the German Air Force announced that two Airbus A340 government planes will be retired early, including the special plane that Berbok boarded this time. Previously, due to the huge financial and fuel costs of the German government fleet, the German Left Party called for the cancellation of the fleet, stating that it was "elite and outdated", which not only did not meet the requirements for addressing the climate crisis, but also increased the government's financial burden.