Two aircraft for Polish top officials to arrive in May and June - daily
Two of three Boeing 737-800 aircraft bought by Poland to carry its top-ranking officials are expected in Warsaw in May and June, a Polish newspaper reported.
One will be delivered at the end of May and the other in mid-June, Dziennik Gazeta Prawna wrote on Wednesday.
The aircraft, which come with a USD 523-million price tag, plus tax, should become operational in late July once the their aircrews have been trained on the military systems installed on them.
The aircraft feature a separate lounge with a bathroom for the VIPs, 12 seats in the business-class section and over 40 in economy class. In addition, the aircraft are equipped with an intensive care unit with a defibrillator and a ventilator.
The aircraft also have active and passive defence systems in the event of a missile attack and encrypted communication systems, according to Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
With the new delivery, the air transport security programme for Poland’s most important people will be nearly completed. In 2017, the Polish defence ministry also received two small Gulfstream G550 planes.
The Polish Defence Ministry signed a contract with Boeing for three medium-range Boeing 737-800NG aircraft on March 31, 2017. Under the deal, the first plane landed at Warsaw's 1st Transport Aviation Base in November 2017.
The deal was a result of the 2010 Smolensk air disaster, when a government aircraft carrying 96, including the then Polish president Lech Kaczynski and his wife, crashed, killing all on board.
According to the daily, the new aircraft could be a challenge for the 1st Transport Aviation Base, which took over carrying government VIPs after the 36th Special Regiment was disbanded in the wake of the Smolensk disaster. Before that, for several years the unit only flew helicopters.
