Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) is one of the few countries that does not own a state plane or a state airline. Thus, BiH officials mostly fly on commercial flights, and in case of emergency situations, we are condemned to the help of other countries.
Members of the Civil Protection of the Republika Srpska (RS) flew to Turkey on an Air Serbia plane, while part of the members of the Civil Protection from the Federation of BiH (FBiH) were transferred by a Turkish Airlines flight, and some by vehicles to transport the necessary equipment.
Currently, in BiH, the Government of the RS owns a plane, which in 2019 paid 19 million BAM for the Cessna Citation CJ4 plane. The unreasonable use of this plane was often criticized by the public and accusations were made that it was used for private use.
Omer Kulic, a pilot and aviation expert, says that before the war it was regulated and that even during the war, the Government of the Republic of BiH used a salvaged Energoinvest plane.
He says that the country looks funny when government officials are transferred by various charter flights and the like, and he told a detail from one of the trips when he was a pilot.
”When BiH was admitted to the Council of Europe, I flew for the Slovenian company that was hired to transport the delegation. I picked them up and took them, and at the same time, the delegation from the RS was going. They took off with their plane. When we arrived in Luxembourg, they landed maybe ten minutes before us and parked us next to them. There on the plane, it says RS, I told them ”Here, gentlemen, they are coming with their own plane, and you are riding with the Slovenians. Thank you very much”,” Kulic stated.
He says that our politicians have never understood the value, that it is primarily a promotion of the state, but also a great saving.
Moreover, Kulic explains that a high-quality plane with eight to ten seats costs 16 to 17 million dollars. Such planes can be used for various purposes, including medical transport, and can even be used in the market as air taxi.
“Such a plane could be available to everyone who needs it. Of course, when politicians fly, they would have priority, but when they are not flying, it can be available for other purposes,” says Kulic.
According to him, the last serious initiative to buy an airplane for state use was around 2010, but that idea was not realized, Klix.ba reports.
E.Dz.
