FRANKFURT: For 184 km! Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock Flies Despite Green Night Flight Ban

A flight by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock from Frankfurt to Luxembourg shortly after the start of night flight restrictions has sparked a debate. According to a report by "Bild-Zeitung," the Green Party politician's plane took off just before midnight on June 23, after she attended the Euro 2024 football match between Germany and Switzerland. The Foreign Office stated that Baerbock did not return directly to Berlin like other government members but traveled to Luxembourg for an EU Foreign Ministers' meeting the next morning. She then continued to Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and Lebanon on Monday afternoon.

Frankfurt Airport enforces night flight restrictions between 11:00 PM and 5:00 AM. Late departures are allowed until midnight for "flights in special public interest." A spokeswoman for the state economic ministry explained that flights by high-ranking government members qualify as public interest flights and are therefore exceptionally permitted to take off after 11:00 PM.

Deputy FDP Federal Chairman Wolfgang Kubicki questioned on Welt-TV: "Why did Baerbock have to be at the game in Frankfurt?" He argued she should have focused on her duties in Luxembourg if they were so important. The leader of the Hessian FDP state parliamentary group, Stefan Naas, criticized this as "green hypocrisy," emphasizing that while the Greens discourage citizens from flying, they themselves fly from Frankfurt to Luxembourg, a distance of only 184.36 kilometers.