Konrad Adenauer (aircraft)


The Konrad Adenauer is a German aircraft used by the government for official travel and diplomatic business. It is named after German statesman Konrad Adenauer.
Like all German governmental aircraft, the Konrad Adenauer is maintained by the Luftwaffe, 1st Division of the Air Force at Köln Bonn Airport. Two different aircraft have carried the name, an Airbus A310 and an Airbus A340.

''Konrad Adenauer'' (10+21) 1990–2011

The first Konrad Adenauer was an Airbus A310-304, just like the other similar-purposed German aircraft Kurt Schumacher, Hermann Köhl and Theodor Heuss. The Konrad Adenauer had a white livery with the national colours of Germany around it and the words BUNDESREPUBLIK DEUTSCHLAND.
In February 2011, the Konrad Adenauer was used to safely evacuate citizens of 15 nations from Libya. Soon after, in April 2011, the A310-304 Konrad Adenauer was replaced by an Airbus A340-313 VIP purchased secondhand from Lufthansa, also named Konrad Adenauer. The A310-304 was eventually sold to French operator Novespace, subsidiary of French Space Study National Center which currently operates the airframe as a zero-g aircraft to perform scientific research, astronaut training and public passenger flights under the Air Zero G brand.

New ''Konrad Adenauer'' (16+01) 2011–present

The current Konrad Adenauer is a former Lufthansa Airbus A340-313 re-configured into a VIP configuration with sleeping rooms and a wide variety of safety technology. This current Konrad Adenauer is capable of flying non-stop, with the capability of transporting 143 passengers.