Crown Prince of Thailand Grounded in Germany

Thailand’s Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn has been grounded by German authorities, or rather, they grounded his plane. A financial spat between a German road construction company and the government of Thailand has thereby reached diplomatic levels. 

HRH Crownprince Maha Vajiralongkorn

The pre-history of the posse currently being played out in full is easily. German road constructors Walter Bau AG had built a pay motorway near Bangkok at the end of the last millennium. Part of the deal between Walter Bau AG and the government was a guaranteed minimum of income from the operation. This minimum was not reached in the stipulated period.

Walter Bau AG went into administration and liquidation and its administrators duly went to court to claim compensation from the government of Thailand. A German court spoke a compensation payment of 30 million Euro which the government in Bangkok refused to pay. With that, the whole affair went to sleep like most of these affairs usually do.

Enter Maha Vajiralongkorn and his ill-fated decision to make a stop-over in Munich, Bavaria. The plan was to have the machine tanked over night at the airport facilities and to resume flight the next morning. But during that night, Bavarian bailiffs jumped and impounded the Royal machine at Munich airport. The rather colourful machine sports now further adornment: A notice of impoundment and the state seal of Bavaria are now prominently visible on the doors of the airplane.

The Crown Prince is livid and has filed complaint with a Bavarian court, claiming that the machine (which he pilots himself more often than not) is his private property. Bangkok’s ambassador in Berlin has virtually taken up residence in Chancellor Merkel’s office to pound home the government’s message that the machine is privately owned by the Crown Prince and that a diplomatic solecism is being perpetrated.

Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya is expected in Berlin (presumably travelling in a machine that will be obviously not owned by the Thai government) to put pressure on the diplomatic channels in Berlin. Bavarian officials and the administrators meanwhile hold to their interpretation that the machine is owned by the Thai government and factually on permanent loan to the Crown Prince.

A Bavarian court presented with evidence as to the property rights to the machine even went so far to say that it was not convinced that the machine belonged to the Crown Prince. This means, that the foreign minister better arrive with cash, otherwise the grounding could grind on for months while German judges ponder the whole dilemma.

The latter development would be good news for the hotel in Munich where His Royal Highness and his small entourage of 40 people have taken residence to await the outcome of the affair and the release of the Royal machine. Under the circumstances, I hope that the hotel remember to ask for payment in advance. 

Further reading
Royal Correspondence in The Curiosity Cabinet
1608: Walking From Somerset to India
James Abbott and Abbottabad