Qatar-Donated Air Force One Goes Offline 1 Month for Upgrades
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Jul 20
Qatar-Donated Air Force One Goes Offline 1 Month for Upgrades
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 20
Summary
About 1 month this fall, President Trump's new Air Force One will be pulled from service for additional upgrades, with Trump reverting to the older aircraft during the work.
The White House gave no details on the modifications, but the jet has faced scrutiny over whether it lacks defensive systems carried by the older plane, including antimissile capabilities.
Secret Service concerns already disrupted Trump's recent travel: after flying the Qatari Boeing jet to the NATO summit in Turkey, he switched to the old plane for the Britain leg before returning to the new jet.
The aircraft — a roughly 14-year-old Boeing luxury jet donated by Qatar — was rushed into service this month as Trump remains frustrated by delays to two new Boeing presidential planes.