Asked why he chose a luxury plane for the trip to South Korea, Klaus Iohannis stated that it is, in fact, a small aircraft.
Iohannis claims to have traveled in a small aircraft. Photo: Boarding Pass
“Yes, I came on an external trip, like many others, in the interest of Romania. (..) I don't know how you define a luxury plane. I came with a small aircraft. All my trips are announced, timely, in the interest of Romania and in full compliance with the legislation in force“, said Klaus Iohannis.
Regarding the purchase of a presidential plane, Klaus Iohannis stated: “This request has existed for a long time, but no Government has considered it the right moment for such a thing“.
According to the Boarding Pass, the head of state started his journey to Seoul (South Korea) on a private Gulfstream G550 plane, operated by Global Jet Luxemburg, which took off from Sibiu on Sunday. The quoted source informed that the plane is the same with which the president of the country flew in official trips to the United Arab Emirates in March 2023, but also in the tour of Africa in November 2023.
“If the ministers who are part of the delegation did not travel by land to Sibiu to fly with the president, then they most likely traveled to South Korea on regular flights“, wrote the Boarding Pass. The information was also presented by G4Media, which cited sources according to which the Minister of Defense traveled separately.
Travel Balance: Criticism and Over-Budget Costs
The government supplemented the foreign travel budget with 1.5 million euros last year, after it had been exhausted since June. However, the Presidential Administration has refused on several occasions to make the costs of the trips public, arguing that the information is classified.
The last tour of the president last year, in Africa, which lasted ten days, brought concretely the signing of 12 memorandums of cooperation between Romania and four countries, but also a series of controversies related to the program of the head of state. Among the moments that brought criticism to President Iohannis were a safari ride in Kenya, a visit to some historical places in Zanzibar City (in Tanzania), but also a bizarre ceremony, in which local Tanzanians threw themselves into the water with paintings of Iohannis and his wife, exclaiming: “Hakuna matata!” (“There are no problems”).
Also last year, the president made another tour in South America, with difficult to quantify results, but also in Asia, where he managed to sign the strategic partnership with Japan, but from where he returned two days later than when the last ones were scheduled evenimente. The head of state also visited the United Arab Emirates.
