Government planes took off empty almost 500 times this year – “Unacceptable”

Created: 12/19/2022, 10:10 p.m

By: Vincent Fischer

The members of the government are based in Berlin, but their planes are stationed at Cologne/Bonn Airport.

That is why there will be almost 500 empty flights in 2022.

Munich – They transport the country's most important politicians around the world: the German government planes.

The machines are often in use again this year.

After the risks from the corona virus have subsided, government officials in Germany are traveling more again.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) recently visited the G20 summit in Vietnam.

But what very few people know: the planes operated by the Federal Ministry of Defense's air force were empty on the road almost 500 times this year.

That reports

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Government aircraft almost 500 times empty on the way from Cologne/Bonn to Berlin and back

16 airplanes and three helicopters are part of the German fleet.

All planes are stationed at the military part of Cologne/Bonn Airport.

However, the German government members and their ministries are based in Berlin.

The consequence: every time the Federal President, the Federal Chancellor or one of his ministers goes on a business trip, the plane has to be flown from Cologne/Bonn to Berlin.

When the prominent passenger has returned, it goes back from the BER breakdown airport in the direction of NRW.

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There were 242 of these so-called “ready flights without passengers” from January to June, and by the end of the year there will be around 480, the flight readiness estimates.

And that in times of climate crisis.

Most recently, the federal government received a bad report on climate protection from the activist Luisa Neubauer.

"Very complicated process": Government fleet still not stationed in Berlin

The explanation for the empty flights dates back several decades.

Bonn was the seat of the German federal government until 1999, so the planes are stationed at the airport there - and that's still the case today.

"What we are experiencing there is the legacy of a very complicated process," says Green politician Jürgen Trittin.

The 68-year-old demands: "The government fleet must be stationed where the government is located."

The opposition has sharply criticized the actions of the federal government.

Left parliamentary group leader Dietmar Bartsch finds the many empty flights "unacceptable".

But moving the government fleet is proving difficult.

The old Tegel Airport was simply too small for the large government planes.

The fleet was supposed to move to the newly built BER airport as early as 2014, but as is well known, this was delayed by a few years.

Not enough space for the government planes at the breakdown airport BER

The problem: At the brand new Berlin airport BER there is currently not enough space and capacity for the 16 planes.

That is why the planes must continue to fly empty from Cologne/Bonn and back again.

But Colonel Daniel Draken, who is in charge of the government fleet, emphasizes that the flights are not pointless.

Accordingly, they are used for training purposes and help the pilots to achieve their minimum 70 flight hours per year.

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"The justification that pilots also have to fly is not for me," counters Dietmar Bartsch.

He believes that flight captains can be trained just as well on simulators.

Colonel Draken, on the other hand, believes that simulator training could replace actual flights.

In particular, since the flights of the Federal Chancellor and his members of the government sometimes lead to unusual destinations.

So it remains with a practice that can be discussed controversially, but in the end there is probably no alternative.

In 2032, the Ministry of Defence's air force will finally move to Berlin.