Newly Operated, Israel Air Force One Was Banned Twice In The Last Two Months

Israel Air Force One. (Wikimedia Commons/Rami Mizrahi)

JAKARTA - Israel's Presidential Aircraft 'Wing of Zion' has been grounded for the second time in two months, after another damage was found on the plane.

Citing The Times of Israel from Ynet September 4, the plane suffered damage to the wing while being pulled into the hangar.

The report also said the plane was likely to be repaired on time for two scheduled flights this month, President Isaac Herzog's visit to Serbia and Albania next week, as well as PM Benjamin Netanyahu's trip to the UN General Assembly in New York on September 23.

Previously, the Boeing 767 aircraft that had been renewed was grounded while making its first flight to the United States in July. At that time, there was a small crack in the windshield of the cockpit.

The inaugural flight brought Prime Minister Netanyahu's logistics to a speech at the US Congress.

The cracks in the 25-year-old windshield are common in aircraft type 767. According to regulations, aircraft are still allowed to resume flights and upon returning from the US, windshields are replaced by Israeli technician Aerospace Industries, which modifies the aircraft and is responsible for its maintenance, quoted from The Jerusalem Post.

PM Netanyahu advocated the purchase of Israel's 'Air Force One' rather than renting a plane from Israeli airlines for every flight, which has no special defense and communication measures.

To save costs, the aircraft was built using a used Boeing ER767-300 that has been operating with Australian airlines since 2000.

The plane arrived in Israel in 2016, but the completion of the work was delayed due to a request by PM Netanyahu's Office to add a shower in the Prime Minister's room and modify it for security and defense.

The State Finance Supervisory revealed in a report; the implementation of a flawed project, taking a long time, underwent late and expensive changes according to the demands of the Prime Minister's Office and Shin Bet, surpassing the budget of more than 100 million Shekels (Rp416,858,006,539).

More than 400 million Shekels (Rp1,667,432,026,158) have been spent on the plane from a budget of 729 million shekels (Rp3,038,894,867,673) approved for its purchase and operation during the first ten years.

Due to Yair Lapid's refusal to use the aircraft, the aircraft was not used during the Naftali Bennett - Yair Lapid administration. The aircraft is stored at the Nevatim Air Base, where operational infrastructure was built for it.

The plane was returned to operational status when Netanyahu returned to the Prime Minister's Office. The Air Force began conducting training flights on the plane, and is now starting to operate.

Having been kept during the previous administration and poor management by the Prime Minister's Office, Boeing has not completed the full certification of the plane to transport 120 passengers, which is required after its conversion. The plane is currently allowed to carry only 80 passengers.

Initially, the plane could accommodate more than 200 seats. However, with the installation of a Prime Minister suite (including a conference room that can be converted into an operating room) and an expanded business class area for the Prime Minister's entourage, now only has 120 seats.