Ministers spend €1.8 million on private jets for foreign trips

Dutch ministers have spent some €1.8 million on renting private jets over the past five years, according to research by RTL Nieuws.

The most expensive flight was a trip by Ruben Brekelmans while minister of defence, who spent over €180,000 on a private jet to take him and a nine-strong delegation to a security conference in Canada last November.

The Dutch government has its own plane which can be used to make foreign visits, and the defence ministry also has access to its own aircraft. If they are not available, ministers are supposed to travel by regular airlines.

A second trip by Brekelmans, this time to Iraq to apologise for the Dutch attack on an IS bomb factory which killed dozens of ordinary citizens, cost €170,997.

The third most expensive trip on the RTL list was current defence minister Dilan Yesilgöz’s short visit the frigate Zr Ms Evertsen off the coast of Cyprus in March. She told RTL there was no other option because “Easyjet does not land on aircraft carriers”.

The defence ministry topped RTL’s list of private jet users, spending €660,000, followed by the prime minister’s office with a bill of €462,000. Third was the foreign affairs ministry, with private jet usage costing €431,000.

A spokesman for the defence ministry said private jets are used very rarely and that ordinary plane tickets are always the first option for long-distance travel.