Antony Blinken’s Boeing 737 plane suffers mechanical failure forcing U.S. Secretary of State to go by road from Paris to Brussels for Nato meeting
- Blinken’s delegation was forced to make the 200-mile trip by bus
- Earlier he had a mechanical problem in Davos
- Blinken typically uses a government-modified Boeing 737 aircraft
Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s government plane suffered “mechanical problems” during his trip to Europe for NATO meetings, causing an unexpected road trip and delay.
The mechanical problem, revealed by the State Department, forced Blinken’s delegation to travel by bus from Paris to Brussels for a meeting of foreign ministers at NATO headquarters.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addresses foreign ministers during a meeting to mark the 75th anniversary of the military alliance.
As a result, Blinken came in about two hours late. The US Air Force owns and operates the modified Boeing 737 that Blinken uses on his world travels, including repeated trips to the Middle East.
He will always have Paris. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) suffered mechanical problems with his government plane, forcing the cancellation of a flight from Paris to Brussels. Here, Blinken poses UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay (R) for a photo at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, April 2, 2024
Blinken also suffered a mechanical problem with his plane early this year during his trip to the Davos meeting in Switzerland.
For that event, the country’s top diplomat traveled by helicopter from Zurich to the annual conversation with top political and economic leaders in January.
He boarded his Boeing jet but was told he couldn’t fly. Traveling assistants and press flew commercially to return home.
Blinken usually travels aboard a fleet of government jets with the same “sea foam blue” paint job as the customized Boeing 757 that has the call sign Air Force One when the president is on board.
The vice president uses similar aircraft.
Blinken is in Europe for talks on Ukraine, Gaza and the chaos in Haiti
President Biden, whose administration is overseeing production of the next generation of Air Force One, joked about the plane last week during a fundraiser with Bill Clinton and Barack Obama when comedian Stephen Colbert referred to mechanical problems when an Alaska Airlines flight had a door plug had. halfway through the flight.
‘You are all busy men, you have to rule the world. Here’s an important question. All three of you served on Air Force One. You still have the keys, Mr. Biden. My Boeing made that, right? Will those doors remain open?’ Colbert asked.
“Before you go any further, will you give Pete Buttigieg a socket wrench to tighten the bolts?” he joked.
‘I’m not going to sit by the door. I’m just kidding. I shouldn’t even joke about it,” Biden responded.