The U.S. Secret Service recommended that President Donald Trump fly out of Turkey aboard the older Air Force One rather than the newly refurbished plane gifted by Qatar, as a security precaution after fighting with Iran resumed, people familiar with the flight planning told The New York Times.
The new Boeing 747-8, donated by Qatar and converted for presidential use, left the NATO summit in Turkey earlier Wednesday for RAF Mildenhall in England. Trump said Wednesday morning that the move was intended to allow military personnel to tour the aircraft.
Trump switches planes at RAF Mildenhall in England
(Video: Reuters)
Although Trump said the decision to switch planes was not driven by security concerns, when asked whether security considerations had led to the change in flight plans, he replied that he was “number one on Iran’s kill list.”
Two U.S. officials who spoke to ABC News said the change was not the result of a specific threat, but was influenced in part by differences in the security capabilities of the two aircraft.
When Trump eventually left Turkey on Wednesday night aboard the older presidential jet, en route to connect with the newer plane in England, passengers were instructed to keep the window shades closed during the flight. Flight tracking data also showed that the aircraft carrying Trump activated its tracking transponder only after it was already over the Black Sea, near Istanbul.
Trump continued to insist that no security problem had caused him to switch planes on the way out of Turkey, but he suggested the window shades may have been kept closed because of the danger of that specific flight.
“Yes, because, you know, you were probably on a dangerous flight, because of all the bad guys we have to deal with,” Trump said, referring to Iran.
According to previous reports, the older Air Force One is equipped with a system designed to blind incoming anti-aircraft missiles, as well as systems that release chaff, a decoy material meant to confuse missile guidance systems and divert them from their path.
It is unclear how many, if any, of those capabilities were installed on the newer Qatar-donated aircraft, which Trump has sought to bring into service quickly.
The administration has insisted that the new aircraft meets all safety and security requirements needed to fly the president of the United States. But the rapid conversion process, which lasted about a year, has raised questions about whether the plane received by the United States from Qatar is equipped with the same advanced defense and security systems as the older presidential aircraft.
In a letter to the secretary of the U.S. Air Force, Democratic senators demanded transparency about the project, writing that the administration was ignoring those concerns in order to provide Trump with “a luxurious airplane for his personal enjoyment.”
Trump made his first trip aboard the refurbished aircraft last week, during a visit to North Dakota. Before that flight, the plane had undergone changes and upgrades in Texas since September to meet the security, communications and other requirements involved in flying the U.S. president.
The Air Force has estimated that adapting the donated aircraft will cost less than $400 million. The plane is expected to serve as the new Air Force One until shortly before the end of Trump’s term. After that, ownership is expected to be transferred to the foundation for Trump’s presidential library.