The presidential administration provided an explanation on Saturday for President Klaus Iohannis’ trip to Japan on a private plane and explained how the decision was made. “The absence of an aircraft intended for the air transportation of high-ranking persons creates problems with operation, economic inefficiency and, above all, damages the image on the external plane,” the institution says.
The presidential administration responded on Saturday to News.ro’s request to provide information about President Klaus Iohannis’ trip to Japan on a private plane.
“We clarify that this activity is carried out on the basis of a contract for the provision of services for the performance of special flights, concluded in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation on the organization, preparation and performance of special flights, approved by Government Resolution No. 10. 755/1998 with subsequent changes and additions,” they informed on Saturday in the Presidential Administration.
Flight details, routes and cost, confidential information
At the same time, the institution explains that the details of the flight, its cost and route are classified in accordance with current legislation.
“Regarding the selection of an aircraft for a special flight, we note that the type of aircraft is determined in accordance with the available options and the specifics of the mission, which determine the transport capacity and range (short, medium). or long courier), and the Security and Safety Service checks compliance with the requirements of the legislation on aviation safety and security related to the performance of special flights,” the Presidential Administration said.
According to her, until 2010, special flights were provided by the Autonomous Directorate of the Romanian aviation company ROMAVIA, created on the basis of Government Resolution no. 244/1991, the structure authorized to perform flights in favor of the state protocol.
Since 2010, ROMAVIA began bankruptcy proceedings and could no longer operate special flights.
“Subsequently, since there was no longer an aircraft designated for the special flights of the President of Romania and other beneficiaries, the special flights were provided by contracted services with TAROM or other Romanian air operators existing in the market, according to Government Decision no. 755/1998 with subsequent changes and additions. This fact led to problems with the provision of existing aviation and high costs for business entities,” the President’s Administration claims.
Why is the TAROM plane no longer usable?
According to her, until 2013, the budget of the Ministry of Transport provided budget allocations for the maintenance of two aircraft from the TAROM fleet for special flights.
After 2013, the two aircraft were re-incorporated into TAROM’s regular flight schedule, a situation that created uncertainty about the possibility of carrying out air transportation related to official trips and the additional costs of performing special flights, at a time when legal authorities required the provision of accompanying services of the national operator.
“Thus, taking into account the impossibility of overlapping TAROM’s work schedule with the program of official visits, which involve the execution of special flights, we have reached a situation where the costs of trips to identical places, at similar coordinates, differ significantly and significantly exceed the usual value.” for that trip. The President’s Administration appealed to the national operator TAROM regarding the implementation of special flights until the beginning of 2017. Later, the President’s Administration was forced to turn to other private operators due to the difficulties of cooperation that arose during 2016, in establishing contractual relations with TAROM,” the Presidium explains.
According to the answer provided by News.ro, these difficulties were mainly due to the following reasons:
– the national operator could not always provide the aircraft requested for special flights according to the calendar of official foreign trips of the President of Romania;
– at the same time, the costs associated with the execution of special flights were significantly higher than standard ones, since TAROM included in the invoices issued, in addition to operating costs, other costs caused by the withdrawal of a special aircraft from the company’s operational program (related financial costs , defined by changes made by the company regarding the positioning/movement of the aircraft, cancellations and changes in capacity, refunds, DBC – compensation for denied boarding, additional commercial margin).
The President asked the Government to “create a structure that will deal with special flights”
“The Presidential Administration, since the beginning of the first mandate of Mr. Klaus Iohannis as President of Romania, has been concerned with identifying and implementing the optimal solution for the execution of special flights for all legitimate beneficiaries, taking into account the fact that the absence of an aircraft intended for the transportation of high-ranking persons creates operational problems, economic inefficiency and, above all, harms the image at the external level, within the framework of official actions of Romania”, the institution also notes.
The Presidential Administration clarifies that on May 11, 2015, having reported the difficulties associated with the lack of an aircraft intended for special flights, the Presidential Administration sent a conceptual document to the Government of Romania entitled “Position of the Presidential Administration on Air Transport”. high-ranking persons – creation of a special structure, execution of special flights.
“Based on the document developed by the Presidential Administration, the issue of providing special flights was considered at the meeting of the Supreme Council of National Defense (SCND) on June 9, 2015, at which the creation of a structure within the ministry was approved. of National Defense, to perform special flights. The initiative of the President’s Administration and the decision of the KSAT determined the resumption of the activities of the Interdepartmental Commission for conducting negotiations on the acquisition of an aircraft, related goods and services in order to create the capacity to perform special flights, created by the Decree of the Prime Minister No. 472/2013 with further changes and additions. Having identified some procedural and legal shortcomings determined by the activities of the mentioned Commission, the Government of Romania approved at the meeting on May 4, 2016, a Memorandum on the topic: “Cancellation of the decision of the Prime Minister no. 472/2013 and the creation of a 3/3 interdepartmental commission to coordinate the activities necessary to establish the air potential intended for special flights.” Thus, the Prime Minister’s Resolution No. 192/23.05.2016 established an Interdepartmental Commission for the coordination of measures necessary for the creation of air potential intended for the performance of special flights. Therefore, as a result of the activities and efforts made in 2015 and 2016 by the members of the interdepartmental commissions created by the Decree of the Prime Minister No. 472/2013, with subsequent amendments and additions, as well as the Decision of the Prime Minister no. 472/2016, in order to eliminate the dysfunctions that have arisen in the implementation of special flights, the Concept of the gradual creation of aviation potential intended for the performance of special flights has been developed. This concept, implemented with the active participation of the Presidential Administration, was approved by the Supreme Council of National Defense in 2016 and is ultimately aimed at the gradual creation and implementation of sustainable potential within the Ministry of National Defense. , intended for special flights,” the answer also states.
According to the cited document, “the creation of capabilities exclusively for special flights, according to the concept approved by CSAT, has not yet begun.”
The website Boarding Pass, which specializes in aviation news, reported that President Iohannis traveled to Japan on a private plane that departed from Bucharest and made a stopover in Sibiu, as well as a refueling stop in Baku, Azerbaijan.
How many times did Yohannis stay in Sibiu when he visited abroad
The Romanian president traveled 26 times in 2022 and the first two months of 2023 domestically and abroad, and most of the flights had stops in Sibiu, according to an analysis of boarding passes.
According to the source, in 19 cases the plane carrying the head of state made stops in Sibiu for several tens of minutes. There are at least seven visits with a stopover in Sibiu on the way to Brussels, as well as other trips to, for example, the UK, Egypt or the USA. (see all flights here).
The departure of President Klaus Iohannis on a private plane during his visit to Japan once again starts the debate about the official plane in the public space.
What does the plane rented by Yohannis for a visit to Japan look like
The website Boarding Pass, which specializes in aviation news, reported that President Iohannis traveled to Japan on a private jet that departed from Bucharest and made a stopover in Sibiu, as well as a refueling stop in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“This is the cabin of the Boeing 737-900ER(BBJ) Global Jet, with which the President of Romania travels to Japan and Singapore. Its transport capacity is only 19 passengers. On March 4-5, 2023, the country’s president traveled on this plane on the Bucharest – Sibiu – Tokyo Haneda route. Since the autonomy of the plane is not enough for a non-stop flight from Sibiu to the capital of Japan, the pilots refueled. stop in Baku (Azerbaijan). The duration of the flight between Bucharest and Sibiu was 31 minutes, the flight between Sibiu and Baku was two hours and 48 minutes, and the flight between Baku and Tokyo lasted nine hours,” the Boarding Pass post says.
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Source: Hot News
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