JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will eschew a private bedroom on flights to Europe after an Israeli television station reported its cost.
Israel’s Channel 10 reported over the weekend that the government paid an additional $127,000 to install a double bed surrounded by privacy walls on a five-hour chartered El Al flight to the funeral of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
Netanyahu’s office said in a statement that it was not aware of the cost to install the temporary bedroom on the plane.
“When the prime minister learned of the costs, he issued an order not to install bedchambers on flights to Europe,” the statement said.
The statement also explained that Netanyahu wanted to be at his best for meetings with world leaders on the sidelines of the funeral.
In addition to the cost for the bedroom, the chartered flight itself cost $300,000. Netanyahu is limited to using local airlines for security reasons.
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