Plane of Thai crown prince impounded in Munich

A Boeing 737 plane belonging to Thailand's Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn has been impounded at Munich airport in southern Germany, officials reported Wednesday.

The step was a "last resort" in a row between insolvent German construction company Walter Bau and the Thai state, said insolvency administrator Werner Schneider, DPA reported.

The Boeing 737, which was seized late Tuesday, has been parked in a maintenance area of Munich airport and does not have permission to take off, said a spokesman for Munich airport.

"We are concerned about what happened." Thai Foreign Ministry spokesman Thani Thingphakdi told the German Press Agency dpa.

"It must stem from a misunderstanding in the belief that the plane is property of the Royal Thai government, but in fact it belongs to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

"We hope this situation can be rectified as soon as possible," Thani said.

In the 1990s, Walter Bau was part of a joint venture to construct a toll road near Bangkok.

However a row erupted over the toll fees to be levied, as a result of which the German construction company said contractual obligations were not being met.

After years of negotiations, an international tribunal in Geneva awarded Walter Bau around 30 million euros (42 million dollars) in compensation, a payment the Thai government rejected.