Opposition MPs are outraged at the use of a state jet to fly four members of parliament from the leading SMER-SD party to Saint Petersburg in Russia this week. “A commercial air ticket costs a few hundred euro,” said Richard Sulík of the Freedom and Solidarity party (SaS), adding that the trip in the state’s 19-seat Yak-40 jet would have cost several tens of thousands of euro.
Also in the spotlight was the manner in which the opposition were notified of the trip. “The way I found out about it was two days before departure, which is a rather non-standard method," says Monika Gibalová of the Christian Democrat party (KDH). Richard Sulík called upon the Speaker of Parliament Pavol Paška (SMER-SD) to publish the exact list of people who participated in the flight, while expecting the ruling SMER-SD party to reimburse the flight costs.
The ruling SMER-SD party sees things differently however, with Parliamentary Chairman spokesman Pavel Chovanec announcing that this working trip had been planned for a long time, due to Slovakia commemorating the 20th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties with Russia and the 15th anniversary of opening the General Consulate in St. Petersburg this year. When questioned about the trip, the Interior Minister Robert Kaliňák explained, “Small YAKs don't fly much” and need to spend more time airborne, therefore, the ministry welcomes any opportunity to use the plane and can even envisage the aircraft being offered for use by the public. Richard Sulík however responded with, “If we’re not using these aircraft we should sell them”.
