Deputy head of the Defense Ministry has announced a tender for government VIP planes, to be opened in the fall.

“Acquiring new VIP planes is currently being discussed. The opinion of the various governmental offices is key because they will decide not only how many planes to purchase, but also what kind and how to outfit them,” stated Deputy Defense Minister Marcin Idzik, adding that the lower house of parliament, Senate, Prime Minister and Presidential Chancellery are discussing these matters.

Two tenders will be opened – one for smaller planes that can carry up to 15 people and one for larger  planes that can transport between 40-60 people.

“The catastrophic crash of the Tu-154 plane near Smolensk in April this year has shown us that a purchase of medium-sized planes is a priority – to replace the older Jak-40s which will become defunct in 2012,” said Idzik.

The Deputy Minister added that the tragic crash – in which the late President Lech Kaczynski and 95 others were killed – drew attention to the fact that the government’s fleet of planes is sorely outdated. For now, the government has chartered two Embraer planes for the duration of four years, paying 25 million zloty (about 6 million euro) annually, but the purchase of new planes is necessary and inevitable. (mmj)

Source: PAP