Overview

• King Philippe and Queen Mathilde are stuck in Antofagasta after a tow truck damaged a tire on their Hi Fly-operated Airbus A340-300 during taxi to the runway.
• More than 16 hours after the scheduled June 26 departure, safety authorities have not granted clearance for the replaced wheel.
• The delegation relocated to a nearby hotel overnight while engineers fitted a new tire and awaited official approval to resume travel.
• Their outbound flight from Melsbroek Airport was also postponed by 24 hours on June 22 due to technical issues with the same aircraft.
• Belgian authorities are now weighing a review of the Hi Fly lease under the national defense agreement to strengthen reliability for high-level travel.