Trump switches back to flying on older Air Force One for England trip instead of new Qatari jet [View all]
Source: The Guardian
Wed 8 Jul 2026 14.25 EDT
Last modified on Wed 8 Jul 2026 14.37 EDT
Donald Trump will fly from Turkey to England onboard the older Air Force One, rather than the new, Qatari-gifted aircraft he used to travel to Turkey, an unexpected change in plans that prompted questions about security fears.
Trump first announced the change in a Truth Social post on Wednesday, where he said that “to honor our brave men and women of the Military, we are sending the brand new, and truly spectacular, Air Force One to Mildenhall Air Force Base, in the United Kingdom, to give them a chance to tour the Aircraft”.
He added that “for old time’s sake, we’ll be taking the former Air Force One, from Turkey to Mildenhall, a short trip that is totally worth doing in order to give our Great Military Heroes a chance to appreciate our beautiful new addition to the Air Force Fleet!”.
Trump had flown to Turkey onboard the new $400m aircraft, which was given to the US as a gift last year by the Qatari government, marking its first international trip. And so the shift in plans to fly the older jet drew questions during a news conference at the Nato summit in Ankara, Turkey, where Trump was asked why he was not returning onboard the new plane.
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/08/trump-air-force-one-england-trip
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