Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan faced criticism after traveling to Washington, D.C., with a five-plane entourage and staying in one of the city’s most expensive hotels for a NATO summit.
Journalist Adem Yavuz Arslan reported that Erdoğan’s delegation included a cargo plane transporting his official vehicle to the United States. The luxury accommodations and large convoy were seen as excessive by many, drawing comparisons to more modest travel arrangements of other world leaders attending the same summit.
Opposition Good (İYİ) Party group deputy chairman Turhan Çömez noted that leaders of NATO’s newest members, Sweden and Finland, shared a single plane. “One plane was for Erdoğan, another for his delegation, a third for his staff and equipment, a fourth for armored vehicles, and a fifth for advance preparations,” Çömez said. “Even US presidents don’t travel like this.”
The Turkish delegation accompanying Erdoğan included Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, National Intelligence Organization (MİT) head İbrahim Kalın and other high-ranking officials. Their presence and the lavish nature of the trip starkly contrasted with Turkey’s ongoing economic struggles and recent austerity measures.
In addition to the criticism over the NATO summit trip, Erdoğan’s use of state resources has been under scrutiny for years. In 2021, during devastating wildfires, it was revealed that Turkey lacked proper firefighting aircraft, while Erdoğan maintained a fleet of 13 airplanes. The contrast between the government’s extravagant expenditures and its inability to address critical emergencies prompted widespread public outrage.
Erdoğan’s recent travel habits also came under fire when he attended the Euro 2024 quarterfinal match in Berlin with a large convoy. This drew sharp criticism amid austerity measures aimed at reducing public spending in Turkey. Labor unions and opposition parties have pointed out that these measures disproportionately affect low-income individuals while sparing the wealthy and powerful.
Economist Mahfi Eğilmez and other critics have previously highlighted the inefficacy of austerity measures that do not address wasteful spending on the presidential palace, airplanes, and large convoys.
As Erdoğan continues to face backlash for his opulent lifestyle, public frustration grows over the perceived disconnect between government spending and the financial struggles of ordinary citizens.