Bruno Waterfield | The Times Germany has ordered a new fleet of government aircraft after a series of embarrassing breakdowns and delays that left ministers stranded. Aircraft from Germany’s Special Air Mission, which shuttles senior figures around the world, have been grounded six times in the past four months. In the most embarrassing incident, Chancellor Merkel missed the start of a G20 summit in Argentina in November because a radio failure forced her jet to turn back. In October, Olaf Scholz, the finance minister was stranded in Indonesia after rodents gnawed through cables on his plane while he was attending an International Monetary Fund meeting. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was stuck in Ethiopia last week — his third breakdown in a government plane since November. A furious Gerd Mueller, the development minister,… Want to read more? Subscribe now and get unlimited digital access on web and our smartphone and tablet apps, free for your first month.
The German government has ordered a €600m ($687m) upgrade to its Special Air Mission aircraft fleet, after a sequence of incidents left its ministers grounded. The fleet, which is responsible for transporting senior government officials around the globe, will purchase three new Airbus A350 planes, all fitted with sleeping quarters and a conference room, along with modern security and communication technology, to be delivered by 2022. The decision was made following a series of embarrassing aircraft failures, which stranded the country's Finance Minister, President, Development Minister, and its Chancellor Bruno Waterfield, sending a negative impression of the technologically-rich nation.