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3 hrs ago
The right-wing Hungarian head of government Viktor Orbán has been accused of abuse of office because of an alleged "private trip" to Italy with a military plane. The independent MP Ákos Hadházy therefore filed a complaint against Orbán. His military jet landed in Pisa at the end of February on the way back from a state visit to Egypt, and Orbán is likely to have vacationed in Italy afterwards.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was reported. / Picture: REUTERS© Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was reported. / Picture: REUTERS
According to the government's official statement, the military plane made a "technical landing" in the city in Tuscany, after which Orbán got out and the plane flew to Budapest, the online portal "Index.hu" reported on Tuesday. How Orbán got back to Hungary after his trip to northern Italy is unknown. Hungarian tourists had photographed the head of government and his wife in Florence and Venice.
Air traffic expert contradicts official statement
The detour to Pisa does not meet the criteria of a technical landing, and no passenger gets out of such a landing, said air traffic expert György Petö to the online portal "rtl.hu". The aim of such a landing is to check whether there are any technical problems that would endanger the safety of the flight. However, if the itinerary from Cairo to Pisa was already fixed from the outset, then this stopover could by no means be considered a technical landing, the pilot emphasized.
When asked by the Hungarian media, Orbán's spokesman, Bertalan Havasi, merely stated that Orbán was in Italy on a private trip. According to Havasi, he could not provide any information about the private program completed there.
