
Germany’s foreign minister has abandoned a trip to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji after a problem with her government plane twice forced it to return to Abu Dhabi, delaying her by more than a day.
Annalena Baerbock set off from Berlin Sunday on what was supposed to be a nearly weeklong trip, and was scheduled to arrive in Canberra on Monday night. But a mechanical problem with her aging German air force Airbus A340’s landing flaps meant that it had to turn back to Abu Dhabi after a refueling stop there.
The aircraft took off again for Australia on Monday night after a test flight was conducted without problems. But the technical problem resurfaced shortly after takeoff and the plane had to return to the Emirati capital again.