Itโs not the first time problems with flights have stalled German diplomacy. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was headed for talks in Djibouti, but the Luftwaffe plane lacked a permit to fly over Eritrea.
Germanyโs Foreign Ministerย Annalena Baerbockย made an unplanned stopover inย Saudi Arabiaย on Wednesday after her plane was denied permission to fly overย Eritreaย en route toย Djibouti.
It is the latest in a series of problems with German government planes that haveย plagued Berlin, with the issueregularly making the headlines during Angela Merkelโs period in government.
โWhen things happen that are not actually planned, you have to be flexible,โ Baerbock said after her German Air Force plane landed in the Saudi port city of Jeddah.
Conflicts in Sudan and Yemen complicated flight plan
Djibouti was to be theย first stop of Baerbockโs three-day trip to East Africa, where she was scheduled to hold talks on the ongoingย conflict in Sudanย and the situation in the Red Sea.ย
โDespite all our efforts, we unfortunately did not receive our overflight clearance to Eritrea,โ the pilot from theย Luftwaffe in charge of the flightย said.
It is common for overflight authorizations to be granted during the course of a flight, but no clearance was given, and the Eritrean Foreign Ministry could not assist.
Due to armed conflicts,ย Sudanย andย Yemenย could not be used as flyover routes.
In a crisis region, not everything can run โas it would in normal, peaceful times,โ Baerbock said.
She plans to fly to Djibouti on Thursday to discuss the European Unionโs plan to protectย civilian shipping in the Red Seaย from Houthi attacks.
โIt is important for me to emphasize that it is a protection mission for the ships on the ground, in other words a defensive mission,โ she said.
She also planned to travel toย Kenyaย andย South Sudanย to discuss the war in Sudan.
Diplomacy interrupted
In August last year, Baerbockย canceled a one-week trip to the Indo-Pacific regionย because of repeated mechanical issues with her government plane.
In May, she was stranded in Doha, Qatar, because of a flat tire on the government plane.
And in 2022, she had toย cancel a meeting with her British counterpartย after her airplane was grounded in Ireland due to ice.
lo/msh (dpa, Reuters)
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