King Philippe and Queen Mathilde’s state visit to Chile — the first Belgian visit to Latin America in 60 years — has been delayed by 24 hours due to a technical problem with their Hi Fly government-chartered plane.
Originally set to depart Belgium on Sunday morning around 09:00, the royal delegation has now left Brussels on Monday at 09:30 on flight 5K671 with Airbus A340-300 registered 9H-SUN, flown in from Beja the previous evening.
This late departure is affecting parts of the official schedule. Planned events included a meeting with Chileans who took refuge in the Belgian embassy after Pinochet’s 1973 coup and a visit to the Mapuche community in La Pintana.
The flight also transports an important economic mission of 127 persons from 20 enterprises.
Despite the delay, their return to Belgium remains scheduled for Friday.