BERLIN (AP) - Germany’s foreign minister was stranded overnight in Mali after his plane was deemed unsafe to fly, the latest in a string of embarrassing breakdowns in the government fleet.
Heiko Maas shrugged off the delay, caused by a hydraulic leak on his German air force Airbus A319, telling the dpa news agency: “I’ve flown more than 300,000 kilometers (186,000 miles) without a breakdown.”
Maas and his entourage overnighted in Bamako and were expected back on a replacement plane Friday.
People were interested in these podcasts
German government planes have been plagued by problems in recent years and new aircraft are on order.
Chancellor Angela Merkel showed up late in November to a Group of 20 meeting in Argentina after her government plane had to make an unscheduled landing en route due to a technical issue.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.