An escalating protocol dispute has practical – and expensive – mobility consequences: the Czech president and prime minister will travel to next week’s NATO summit in Ankara on two separate government Airbus A319 CJ aircraft instead of sharing one flight. Echo24 reports that the decision, anchored in long-standing security guidance that the two highest officials should not fly together, will add “several million crowns” to the state travel bill. President Petr Pavel had proposed splitting official engagements so that only one aircraft was needed, but Prime Minister Andrej Babiš plans to attend all sessions, making joint travel impractical under the rule. The Ministry of Defence, which operates the VIP fleet, has not yet published a cost estimate; past data suggest a Prague-Ankara round-trip on the A319 costs 2–3 million CZK, meaning the duplication could approach 6 million.
![Separate government jets to NATO summit could cost Czech taxpayers millions]()
While the government grapples with the aviation bill, everyday travelers face their own pre-departure headaches. VisaHQ, an online visa and passport service, streamlines the paperwork for Czech citizens and residents heading to Turkey or any of more than 200 countries, offering step-by-step guidance, courier hand-offs, and status tracking so that unexpected protocol hitches don’t derail personal itineraries.
Beyond optics, the episode highlights capacity constraints in the Czech Air Force’s special-transport squadron, which now has to crew, fuel and park two jets at Ankara’s Esenboğa Airport for the two-day summit. Logistics staff confirm that the second crew will fly in separately on a CASA support plane to comply with duty-time limits. Corporate travel observers draw a parallel with private-sector duty-of-care rules that often bar boards from travelling together. They note, however, that most multinationals mitigate costs by staggering commercial flights rather than chartering duplicate aircraft – an option less viable for heads of state who require secure communications and controlled boarding. Opposition MPs are calling for a post-summit audit of government air-transport policy, arguing that adherence to security doctrine should not automatically trump fiscal prudence. For now, Ankara will see a doubled Czech footprint on the tarmac – and taxpayers will foot the multiplied invoice.
While the government grapples with the aviation bill, everyday travelers face their own pre-departure headaches. VisaHQ, an online visa and passport service, streamlines the paperwork for Czech citizens and residents heading to Turkey or any of more than 200 countries, offering step-by-step guidance, courier hand-offs, and status tracking so that unexpected protocol hitches don’t derail personal itineraries.
Beyond optics, the episode highlights capacity constraints in the Czech Air Force’s special-transport squadron, which now has to crew, fuel and park two jets at Ankara’s Esenboğa Airport for the two-day summit. Logistics staff confirm that the second crew will fly in separately on a CASA support plane to comply with duty-time limits. Corporate travel observers draw a parallel with private-sector duty-of-care rules that often bar boards from travelling together. They note, however, that most multinationals mitigate costs by staggering commercial flights rather than chartering duplicate aircraft – an option less viable for heads of state who require secure communications and controlled boarding. Opposition MPs are calling for a post-summit audit of government air-transport policy, arguing that adherence to security doctrine should not automatically trump fiscal prudence. For now, Ankara will see a doubled Czech footprint on the tarmac – and taxpayers will foot the multiplied invoice.
