As the new Tunisian government begins the difficult job of undoing the more grandiose projects of its deposed dictator, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the former presidential aircraft, an Airbus A340-500, has been put up for sale, according to reports in the French press.
Registered as TS-KRT, it was delivered on 30 November 2009, eventually leaving for Tarbes in France at the end of 2010, before moving to Bordeaux Mérignac.
The four-engined jet saw little use, as the majority of Ben Ali's infrequent foreign journeys were taken in a state-owned Boeing BBJ.
Flightglobal's ACAS database lists the Rolls-Royce Trent 500-powered A340-500 - serial number 902 - as part of a cancelled order from Indian carrier Kingfisher before being acquired by the Tunisian state. It is undergoing VIP conversion at Sabena Technics's Bordeaux Mérignac facility.
Also reportedly for sale by the Tunisian government is a Dassault Falcon 900B, formerly owned by Ben Ali's son-in-law Sakhr El Materi, which was seized in Geneva.
All profits from the aircraft will be returned to the Tunisian exchequer.
Source: Flight International
