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Finnish President’s trip to NATO summit disrupted by airline mishap, hitchhikes with Swedish PM

Wednesday 10th 2024 on 16:15 in  
Finland

A trip to a NATO summit in Washington by Finnish President Alexander Stubb was marked by significant confusion. Initially scheduled to fly from Helsinki to Germany with his delegation on a regular flight on Monday, and then on to Washington, the journey didn’t go as planned. A delay in the Helsinki-Germany flight resulted in a missed connection to Washington. The airline’s proposed alternative route was deemed problematic, leading to a change in plans.

Eventually, Stubb flew from Germany to Stockholm, where he joined Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on his private plane to Washington. Stubb had been in contact with Kristersson on Monday as soon as the Finnish delegation encountered difficulties with their flights in Germany.

Following the travel turmoil, Stubb expressed his gratitude to Kristersson for the ride to Washington on his Facebook account. He also noted the silver lining of the incident, as it provided an opportunity to exchange thoughts with the Swedish delegation. Meanwhile, some members of Stubb’s delegation remained in Germany and arrived in Washington at different times due to the flight mishaps.

Upon his arrival in Washington, Stubb shared his travel ordeal with an “unnamed German airline”, which drew laughter from the audience. Despite the challenges, Stubb was able to participate in the summit’s official program as originally planned. However, a few meetings had to be rescheduled or cancelled on Tuesday morning.

The incident raises the question of why the Finnish president uses regular flights for such important meetings. Security expert Aapo Cederberg, who has previously worked in the Ministry of Defence and the Defence Forces, explains that the president generally flies on scheduled flights. Shorter trips are made using Defence Forces’ aircraft, mainly for scheduling reasons.

Cederberg notes that maintaining a private jet for government use would be extremely expensive. This was considered in the past, but the idea was deemed too costly and was never implemented. The cost of chartering private aircraft is also significantly higher than regular flights.

Despite the international situation becoming tenser, there is currently no need for a private jet for the Finnish president, neither for cost nor security reasons. Cederberg points out that in many countries, leaders are expected to have their own aircraft, but the risks in Finland do not warrant changing the current system. This cost-effective system, he says, can be deviated from if need be. Private aircraft have been occasionally used, mostly for scheduling reasons rather than security concerns.