Secret Service steers Trump to old Air Force One amid Iran tensions

The Secret Service steered President Donald Trump to the older Air Force One when he left Turkey, choosing the decades-old presidential jet over the newly retrofitted Qatari-gifted Boeing 747-8 that brought him in. The switch came as hostilities with Iran escalated, and Trump later told reporters he was “number one on the kill list for Iran.”

The move was a security precaution, not a response to any specific threat. Trump had flown into Turkey on the refurbished 747-8, the first international trip for the aircraft, but departed on the older blue-and-white Air Force One after the Secret Service judged the older plane better suited to the moment. Passengers on that aircraft were instructed to keep the windows down during the flight, a reminder that even routine presidential travel can turn quickly into a controlled security operation.

The episode put fresh attention on the aircraft that is supposed to bridge the gap until Boeing finishes the permanent replacements. Boeing’s contract for two next-generation Air Force One planes was signed in 2018 for $3.9 billion, but the U.S. Air Force now expects the first VC-25B delivery in mid-2028 after repeated delays. The current presidential aircraft are two modified Boeing 747-200s that entered service in 1990, making them more than 35 years old.

Trump later boarded the Qatari-gifted plane again in Britain for the flight back to Washington, after it had flown to RAF Mildenhall. That aircraft has become part of a wider debate over how the presidency manages foreign gifts, security upgrades, communications hardening and missile-defense capabilities while waiting for Boeing’s unfinished replacement fleet. The 747-8 has been painted and is still undergoing final modifications as a bridge aircraft, but the decision to send Trump back to the older jet showed that the most advanced-looking option is not always the one the Secret Service trusts most when tensions spike.

Trump had already signaled his preference for the older aircraft, saying on social media that he would use it “for old time’s sake.” But the operational choice in Turkey pointed to something more consequential than nostalgia: when the threat environment tightens, the presidency still falls back on the older machine, even as the administration waits for a replacement that is years behind schedule.