Trump says he will use old Air Force One to travel to UK, with new plane going there too

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said on July 8 he will fly an old Air Force One plane from Turkey to the UK “for old time's sake”, with the new plane given to the US by Qatar visiting the same base in the UK, according to a post on Truth Social.

Trump said the newly overhauled Air Force One will fly to RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom so US service members stationed there can tour the aircraft.

The new plane is a Boeing 747 gifted to the United States by Qatar in 2025 and refitted by defence contractor L3Harris Technologies.

The jumbo aircraft has been painted in a red, white, dark blue and gold livery chosen by Trump, marking a departure from the iconic design used on Air Force One for decades.

“Everybody is so excited and we thought that they should be the first,” Trump wrote, adding that the outgoing Air Force One would make the trip from Turkey to Mildenhall “for old time's sake.”

The Qatari jet’s acceptance had drawn scrutiny. Retrofitting the luxury plane required security upgrades, communications improvements to prevent eavesdropping, and missile defence capabilities, experts said. REUTERS