As of: February 2, 2024, 7:56 a.m
By: Hannes Niemeyer
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Annalena Baerbock is being criticized for an alleged scandalous return trip - statements from two ministries are now bringing another truth to light.
Berlin – Annalena Baerbock and the flights.
A relationship that is more difficult than probably any other member of the traffic light government.
Something goes wrong here, there is excitement there.
The Foreign Minister recently had to spend an unplanned night in Saudi Arabia because she did not have an overflight permit.
Last year there were such problems with one of their government planes during a trip abroad that the plane was even taken out of service.
Baerbock flew back line.
And now there is a lot of trouble again about the Green Party politician's plane trip.
The reason: A return flight from Copenhagen to Berlin from 2022 and an extra plane that was supposedly ordered just for this purpose.
However, the exact circumstances are apparently somewhat different than initially assumed.
Back then, on August 25, 2022, the Foreign Minister flew the government Airbus A-340 for talks to Rabat and Agadir in Morocco.
From there we went straight on to Copenhagen.
The plane is said to have landed in the middle of the night, reports
Bild
.
Then a surprising problem arose.
Extra empty flight for three hours?
Baerbock criticized after alleged scandalous return trip
As
Bild
now reports, a local program item was canceled, so Baerbock wanted to fly back three hours earlier.
However, the Ministry of Defense's flight readiness expressed concerns because the legally required rest periods for the A-340 crew could not be adhered to under these circumstances.
According to the
Bild
report, a second government plane came especially from Cologne, brought a replacement crew to Copenhagen and flew back to Cologne empty.
Annalena Baerbock 2022 in Copenhagen: There was now a lot of fuss about her return flight.
© Britta Pedersen/dpa
All this just for a slightly earlier trip home?
The distance from Copenhagen to Berlin is only 356 kilometers.
Anything but climate-friendly.
Suspicious of a scandal – but probably just suspicious, as new statements now show.
The Foreign Ministry
initially confirmed to
Bild that the “delegation had been brought back to Berlin in time for the minister’s follow-up appointments”.
However, further statements now cast the incident in a different light.
No empty flight at all?
Ministries express themselves - and cast Baerbock's return trip in a new light
As it now turns out, there was no empty flight for the Copenhagen incident.
In response to a query from
Focus Online
, the Defense Ministry's flight readiness confirmed a "changed itinerary with adjusted transport requirements and prescribed rest periods for the deployed crew."
Accordingly, there was also a second crew for the return flight to Germany.
However, she didn't come to Copenhagen on a specially ordered plane.
Instead, a plane that was already on duty simply dropped off the second crew in Denmark on a stopover on the way to Canada.
This only resulted in a slight adjustment to the planned flight route, reports the flight readiness to
Focus Online
.
They then flew back with the A-340 aircraft that was already on site.
Empty flight?
None!
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“Especially in times of crisis”: Foreign Office explains difficult return journey organization for Minister Baerbock
The Foreign Office also confirmed again to
Focus Online
that there had been a rescheduling of the return flight process.
However, no information could be given about the exact circumstances because the Ministry of Defense was responsible for organizing the flights.
“Maximum flexibility is often necessary, especially in times of crisis,” the Baerbock Ministry explained to the medium in a statement.
Therefore, “changes and program delays can always occur.”
Return travel alternatives that have slightly reduced pollutant emissions, such as scheduled flights or train journeys, would also always be checked in advance.
However, this is not often possible due to the tight deadlines.
It is not the first time that the Foreign Minister has created an alleged scandal in recent times.
Baerbock was recently criticized for an alleged luxury watch.
At a carnival event, the Green Party minister threw the K question into the face of the Union.
(han)