- Blinken’s delegation was forced to make the 300-kilometer trip by bus
- He previously suffered a mechanical problem in Davos.
- Blinken typically uses a government-modified Boeing 737 aircraft.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s government plane suffered “mechanical problems” on its way to Europe for NATO meetings, forcing an unexpected road trip and delay.
The mechanical problem, which was revealed by the State Department, forced Blinken’s delegation to travel by bus 193 miles from Paris to Brussels, a trip of more than four hours, for a meeting of foreign ministers at the headquarters of NATO.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addresses Foreign Ministers at a meeting to mark the 75th anniversary of the military alliance.
As a result, Blinken arrived about two hours late. The US Air Force owns and operates the modified Boeing 737 that Blinken uses during his world travels, which have included repeated trips to the Middle East.
He will always have Paris. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) suffered mechanical difficulties on his government plane, forcing the flight from Paris to Brussels to be suspended. Here Blinken’s UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay (R) poses for a photo at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France on April 02, 2024.
Blinken also had to deal with a plane mechanical issue on his trip to the Davos meeting in Switzerland earlier in the year.
For that event, the country’s top diplomat traveled by helicopter from Zurich for the annual conference with top political and economic leaders in January.
He boarded his Boeing plane and was told he couldn’t fly. Travel assistants and press flew commercially to return home.
Blinken often travels aboard a fleet of government executive jets that feature the same “seafoam blue” paint job as the modified Boeing 757 that has the call sign Air Force One when the president is aboard.
The vice president uses similar planes.
Blinken is in Europe to talk about Ukraine, Gaza and the chaos in Haiti
The mechanical problem forced Blinken’s delegation to travel to Brussels by bus
Blinken also had a mechanical problem with a plane in Davos in January.
The problem caused Biden to arrive late for a meeting in Brussels
President Biden, whose administration is overseeing production of the next-generation Air Force One, joked about the plane at a fundraiser with Bill Clinton and Barack Obama last week when comedian Stephen Colbert referenced mechanical problems when a flight of Alaska Airlines had a door stopper. in full flight.
‘You are all busy men, you have to go rule the world. Here is an important question. You three have been on Air Force One. You still have the keys, Mr. Biden. Did that make my Boeing right? Do those doors stay open? —Colbert asked.
‘Before we go up, will you give Pete Buttigieg a socket wrench to tighten the bolts?’ he joked.
‘I don’t sit by the door. I’m just kidding. “I shouldn’t even joke about that,” Biden responded.