Merkel Misses G20 Start Due to Plane Trouble
Jennifer Billock November 30, 2018
Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany, is going to be late to the G20 summit in Argentina because her plane – the German government’s Airbus A340 – had some technical problems that forced it to reroute and land temporarily in Cologne; this particular plane had technical issues in the past as well.
German chancellor Angela Merkel was grounded in Cologne on her way to the G20 Summit in Argentina thanks to technical issues on the government’s Airbus A340. About an hour into the 15-hour flight, currently unspecified issues forced the plane to turn around and safely land back at the airport – though the pilot said that there was a “malfunction of several electronic systems,” CNBC reported, but no security concerns.
After the plane landed, Merkel and the other passengers were bussed to a hotel at whichMerkel waited for another government plane to take her to Madrid, where she would then switch to a commercial airline for the remainder of the flight to Argentina.
Unfortunately for Merkel, the delay means that she will miss the beginning of the summit, as she will now not arrive until Friday night. She will have to reschedule some of her appointments; planned so far are meetings with China, India, Russia and the United States.
This is not the first time this specific plane has caused troubles for leaders in Germany. German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, who was also grounded on this flight with Merkel, had faced a similar issue last month on the same plane, when it was grounded due to rodent-based damage.
[Photo: Shutterstock]
