How often does Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) fly to meetings in a police helicopter? The Green Party in Bavaria’s state parliament has been waiting almost three months for an answer to this question. After several deadline extensions and additional delays, a vague answer emerged on Tuesday: Between 2020 and 2024, “the number of individual flights will be between three and eleven,” the Bavarian Interior Ministry said.
The state government did not respond to questions about the exact number and purpose of the helicopter flights. “Detailed answers to these questions will provide insight into the scope, frequency and specific deployment scenarios of use and enable the creation of a profile of the Prime Minister’s movements,” said the answer provided to SZ. This will endanger aviation safety in the future.
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“We will not let ourselves be fooled by these vague answers and are considering further steps,” said Green Party lawmaker Claudia Köhler. “It is not possible to create a movement profile for emergencies or special situations that would justify the use of helicopters.”
In early November, Köhler and his colleagues in the parliamentary group speculated whether the Prime Minister would allow the police to fly him to an election campaign promise. “By helicopter to the beer tent? We’re not going to spend money or a police force on this,” the budget politician said. According to the Interior Ministry, helicopter use costs between 2,170 and 4,000 euros per hour, depending on the type of operation. The costs are billed to the police budget. In its response, the state government stressed that Söder’s flight “serves exclusively to carry out state duties and not for party appointments.”
