Another plane breakdown for Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock: After a stopover to refuel in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, the Green politician had to cancel her flight to a week-long trip to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji early Monday morning.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said on board: “Due to a mechanical problem, we have to return to Abu Dhabi for safety reasons. The options for further travel planning are currently being clarified.”
The machine was still in the air at around 4:30 a.m. local time (2:30 a.m. CEST) with Baerbock and her delegation on board. In order to be able to land safely in Abu Dhabi, fuel first had to be drained. The flight captain had previously informed over the on-board loudspeaker that there were problems retracting the landing flaps.
The Green politician left for a week-long trip to the Pacific region on Sunday, where she planned to hold political talks in Australia, New Zealand and Fiji. It was not until mid-May that the Foreign Minister was stranded in Doha in the desert emirate of Qatar because of a punctured tire on her government Airbus.