Skopje, 21 January 2025 (MIA) - It is necessary to acquire a new state aircraft, even if it is used, for official state trips abroad, since the existing one is around 20 years old, has six seats and doesn’t satisfy the needs, the head of the Government’s Department of General Affairs, Ivica Tomovski, said in an interview for 360 Stepeni on Monday evening.

“If we want and intend to be a serious country we need to have a proper aircraft, the aircraft that we currently have has only six seats, it is impractical for larger delegations, it breaks down often and that’s why I think we need to seriously consider purchasing a new airplane, even a used airplane, but not one that is older than two-three years, and on this issue there should be a consensus between the opposition and the Government,” Tomovski said.

Tomovski agreed with the journalist’s statement that the Government’s Learjet 60 isn’t too old, it was bought in 2005 and regularly serviced, but, he said, it experiences technical issues frequently.

“I absolutely agree, usually it is said planes don’t age when they are maintained properly, but here we often experience defects. It will now be sent for urgent repairs in Vienna, since the reservoirs are leaking fuel, which is a really serious issue. We had an issue with some of the instruments that led the company which carries out repair works to forbid us from flying it, so the Speaker of Parliament was forced to return to Macedonia with regular flights, and there are other issues that arise as well,” Tomovski said.

According to Tomovski, purchasing a new plane would cost the country EUR 30-40 million and up, while a used airplane would cost around EUR 15 million. 

Photo: 360 Stepeni