There is an Oxygen Leak, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's Plane is Prohibited From Flying in Switzerland

US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken's illustration on the state plane he uses (Wikimedia Commons/US Department of State)

JAKARTA - The plane carrying United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken was banned from leaving Switzerland, due to experiencing a "critical failure" due to an oxygen leak, officials said.

Originally, America's top diplomat was scheduled to return from Switzerland to the United States, after taking part in a series of activities at the World Economic Forum in Davos, before flight problems occurred.

The Foreign Minister and his aides boarded the plane in Zurich on Wednesday and were forced to disembark after the leak was identified.

He had been scheduled to return to the US on a Boeing 737, according to US media reports.

The delay came at the end of Secretary of State Blinken's trip and did not disrupt his travel plans abroad, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said.

"There was a mechanical problem with the plane," said Miller, as reported by the BBC on January 18.

“The Air Force has brought in replacement aircraft. "We were expected to return tonight, but several hours later than originally planned," he continued.

A separate plane was then sent to pick up Secretary of State Blinken, while his aides returned to Washington on a commercial flight.

It is known that Foreign Minister Blinken has visited many countries since the Israel-Gaza war broke out in October.