Annalena Baerbock flew back to Germany from Copenhagen in August 2022 three hours ahead of schedule. Currently, the Federal Foreign Minister has ordered the sending of an additional Bundeswehr aircraft to Denmark, according to the newspaper “Bild”, which is currently the subject of criticism. After all, the green politician stressed when she took office that she wanted to travel in the most climate-friendly way possible.

“Typical ecological double standards: increase taxes on airline tickets, preach climate protection, and then limit the willingness to fly for personal comfort. “That is not possible,” criticized, for example, the general secretary of the CSU, Martin Huber, in the newspaper “Bild.”

And CDU MP Philipp Amthor also complained: “Next time the minister should read some files or a book on international law and wait for her scheduled return flight.”

What is flight preparation anyway?

The fact is that if the Chancellor or a minister goes on a business trip, he can rely on the availability of Bundeswehr flights. Just like Baerbock did.

“The fleet guarantees VIP, personnel and material transportation throughout the world. In addition, there is the possibility of transporting the sick and wounded, as well as carrying out flights within the framework of the Open Skies Treaty,” can be read on the Bundeswehr website.

For this purpose, a whole range of aircraft is available: two Airbus A350, two Airbus A319CJ, one Airbus A319 OH, one Airbus A321, two Airbus A321 LR, three Bombardier Global 5000, three Global 6000 and three Cougar AS-532 helicopters.

In fact, many cabinet members use the Air Force for business trips, as shown by 2023 figures from the German Press Agency. They come from a response from the Ministry of Defense to a request from leftist MP Sevim Dagdelen and other members of his group.

Baerbock really wanted to fly more lines

During the first 21 months of their mandate, representatives of the federal government traveled a total of 1,184 times on business with Bundeswehr planes and helicopters. The Foreign Ministry, Baerbock's ministry, counted 246 flights. Overall, Chancellor Olaf Scholz used flight availability the most, as the figures show:

• Federal Chancellery (397 flights)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs (246 flights)
• Ministry of Defense (107 flights)
• Ministry of the Interior (95 flights)
• Ministry of Economic Affairs (94 flights)
• Ministry of Finance (86 flights)

The advantage of being ready to fly is obvious: unlike regular flights, they take off when necessary. If a politician's list changes, as in Baerbock's case, he or she may advance earlier than planned.

As “t-online” reports, the Foreign Minister almost always uses the Bundeswehr fleet for business trips. It was Baerbock who wanted to keep CO2 emissions low and fly on as many routes as possible.

“Due to the tight schedule and often inadequate plane and train connections, this rarely works,” the Foreign Ministry explained to the portal when asked. About the current debate it was said: “The willingness to fly ensured that the delegation could return to Berlin in time for the minister's next appointments.”

And further: “Due to the intense scheduling of trips and appointments of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, changes and delays in programs can always occur.”

7 million euros a year just for empty flights between Cologne and Berlin

Even before the procedures for 2022 were known, left-wing MP Sevim Dagdelen criticized the fact that the government was not switching more to commercial flights. “By overusing flight availability, the traffic light government is reducing to absurdity its promises to use tax money sparingly and protect the environment and climate,” he said.

Flight preparation has repeatedly made headlines in recent years due to setbacks. For example, Baerbock had to cancel a trip to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji in Abu Dhabi due to a defect in the landing flap.

A report from the newspaper “Spiegel” shows how expensive it was: According to it, the failed trip to Australia would have cost more than 100,000 euros.

There are hardly any figures on how much the will to fly generally costs. In 2019, the Spiegel newspaper reported that empty flights between Cologne and Berlin alone cost seven million euros a year.

Other foreign ministers are stricter

Federal government frequent flyers, in particular, are reluctant to travel on scheduled airlines because the planning effort is so much greater. In addition, there are relatively few direct flights abroad from Berlin compared to other airports in the capital, such as London or Paris.

This is perhaps one of the reasons why British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly travels much more frequently for business purposes than his German counterpart. “Ministers must ensure that they always make efficient and cost-effective travel arrangements,” is the requirement of the ministerial code.

The Royal Air Force's fleet for government flights is also significantly smaller than that of the German aviation service, which currently has 16 aircraft. It only includes two Dassault 900LX and a VIP Voyager, with which King Charles also travels.

The French government's fleet is also still small compared to the German one: one Airbus A330 and six small Falcon commercial aircraft. The same applies to Italy with three medium-sized Airbus A319s and three Falcons.