German minister stranded in Zambia after plane breaks down

German Development Minister, Gerd Mueller, on Wednesday had his travel plans disrupted during a trip to southern Africa after his plane broke down.
Mueller’s plans went haywire after his Global 5000 plane broke down in Malawi on Monday.
He was able to take a commercial flight to Zambia, but has been forced to stay there longer than originally planned, and had to cancel a scheduled visit to Namibia.
He was still in Zambia on Wednesday as a spare part for the defective plane was due to arrive in Malawi from South Africa, a spokeswoman said.
He was supposed to return to Germany from Namibia on Wednesday evening – however, until the replacement component arrives from Johannesburg, he will be stranded.
The government spokeswoman said he would probably be able to return on Friday.
The spokeswoman said that the mechanics, who would be able to fix the government plane had already arrived in Malawi.
It is not the first time in recent months that the political representatives of Europe’s biggest economy have been beset by aviation issues.
In November, Chancellor Angela Merkel was late to arrive at the G20 summit in Argentina after her plane was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Cologne due to a technical defect.
And in October, members of German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz’s delegation were stranded in Indonesia after rodents gnawed through the cables of a government plane during the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).