The government defends the decision to have King Willem-Alexander, during his visit to Drenthe last June, picked up by the government aircraft that had to make a detour especially for the head of state. The plane had Spain as its final destination, but first flew from Schiphol to Eelde in 20 minutes. Extra and polluting aviation kilometers, says Member of Parliament Ernst Boutkan (Volt).
The parliamentarian asked a series of parliamentary questions to Prime Minister Rutte and the responsible ministers Harbers (Infrastructure and Water Management) and Rob Jetten (Climate and Energy). They in turn replied that it was ‘the most appropriate choice’.
King Willem-Alexander visited our province on June 12. He took a look at the provincial house and visited the theater performance East Side Story, about the arrival of Moluccan KNIL soldiers and their families in residential areas. Afterwards, he and a delegation flew to Spain for a working visit to hydrogen projects in Spain.
The delegation members departed from Schiphol and welcomed the king, for whom the government plane made a stopover, at Eelde airport. Unnecessary, Boutkan argued in his parliamentary questions. “Can you indicate why the King did not travel the distance from Westerbork to Schiphol Airport in a different way, such as by public transport (a journey of only three hours) or by car (a journey of only two hours)?”