©picture alliance / Anadolu | Amiri Diwan of the State of Qatar / Handout
Donald Trump has admitted that his new Air Force One, an aircraft he received from Qatar last year, is being temporarily grounded for additional upgrades. According to Trump, the plane must be modified again within about a month to upgrade it “as much as possible.”
Trump was forced to respond after questions arose about the aircraft’s safety. The New York Times previously reported that, for security reasons, Trump flew from the NATO summit in Ankara to the British air base at Mildenhall on his old Air Force One , only switching to the new aircraft afterward. The newspaper also reported that the aircraft did not yet have all the security and defense systems of the previous presidential plane, including missile defense. Trump and his administration initially denied that the switch had anything to do with security. The journalists behind that report were even subpoenaed, but on Sunday, the president finally admitted that additional modifications are needed. “The plane has a lot of capabilities,” he said upon his return from the World Cup final in New Jersey.
The aircraft is a 14-year-old Boeing 747-8 with an estimated value of about $400 million. It is intended as a temporary solution while Boeing still has to deliver the long-delayed replacements for the Air Force One fleet, likely not until around 2028. Trump has thanked Qatar several times for the gift and previously stated that the aircraft had been converted into a sort of “flying White House.” The exterior was repainted in red, white, blue, and gold, while security, communications, and technology systems were also upgraded. However, the aircraft will remain out of service for the time being to undergo a final, more extensive upgrade.
©picture alliance / Anadolu | Amiri Diwan of the State of Qatar / Handout - illustrative image: Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani (left) meets with U.S. President Donald Trump (right) aboard the aircraft in Doha, Qatar, on October 25, 2025.