Published On 9/7/2026
US President Donald Trump left Turkey, on Wednesday, aboard the old US Air Force One, a VC-25A, before later transferring to the new, modified Boeing 747-8 during a stop at the British Royal Air Force’s Mildenhall Base, on his way back to Washington after his participation in the NATO summit.
Flight tracking platforms showed that the modified Boeing 747-8 plane in which Trump arrived in Turkey departed early Wednesday, heading to the British Royal Air Force’s Mildenhall base, where it landed hours before the president arrived to complete his trip to the United States.
Trump said in a post on the “Truth Social” platform that he chose to travel to the British base on the old plane “for the good old days,” while the new plane – which was gifted by Qatar – was previously sent to “Mildenhall” to make it available to the American military personnel stationed there.
He added that members of the American forces at the base showed great enthusiasm to see the new plane and tour inside it, stressing that the stop at the British base was part of the flight path returning from Türkiye to the United States.
Video footage showed Trump later boarding the new plane at Mildenhall Base to continue his trip to Washington.
The new aircraft is a Boeing 747-8, with red, white and navy blue colors, and has undergone extensive modifications after receiving it, as part of efforts to modernize the US presidential transport fleet, which relies on aircraft that have been in service since the early 1990s.
When Trump was asked during a press conference after the conclusion of the NATO summit about the reasons for changing the plane during the return flight, he indicated that he constantly faces threats, saying that he is “number one on the Iranian assassination list,” without directly linking those threats to the decision to change the plane.
For his part, White House spokesman Stephen Chung said in a statement, “The new Air Force One is a highly advanced aircraft equipped with high-level security protocols that ensure the safety of the president and his staff.”
The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, gifted a Boeing 747-8 to Trump last year, after the US president complained about two obsolete presidential planes that have been in use since 1990.
