President Trump could start flying in a plane donated by Qatar as early as this summer, as the U.S. Air Force confirms it will deliver the refurbished jumbo jet for use as Air Force One within months.
“The Air Force remains committed to expediting delivery of the VC-25 bridge aircraft in support of the Presidential airlift mission, with an anticipated delivery no later than summer 2026,” an Air Force spokesperson said Wednesday, confirming a report by The Wall Street Journal.
The royal family of Qatar donated the Boeing 747-style plane for Mr. Trump’s use last spring. The plane could not enter service immediately, though, as the Pentagon needed to retrofit it to serve as Air Force One. It also needed to be checked for security and spying devices before it was accepted, a source told CBS News at the time.
The donated plane could take the place of two 35-year-old jets that currently serve as Air Force One. Mr. Trump has long pushed to replace the aging planes, but a project to replace them has faced delays, with delivery of two new planes currently set for 2027 and 2028.
The existing planes showed their age late Tuesday, when Air Force One turned around less than an hour after taking off for Switzerland due to a “minor electrical issue.” The president then switched to a smaller plane before flying across the Atlantic for the World Economic Forum.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt joked at one point during the ordeal that the Qatari jet sounded “much better.”
The donation has drawn criticism from congressional Democrats and watchdog groups, who have argued it poses ethics concerns for the president to accept a gift worth hundreds of millions of dollars from a foreign country. Some critics have also questioned the cost of retrofitting the donated plane.
“The fact that taxpayers are now funding a fifth Air Force One, originating from a foreign monarchy, is a staggering abuse of public trust, fiscal priorities, and national security interests,” said Virginia Canter, chief counsel for ethics and anti-corruption at Democracy Defenders Fund, a group run by an Obama-era ethics official that requested an investigation into the gift last year.
Mr. Trump has brushed off the concerns and defended his decision to accept the gift.
“If we can get a 747 as a contribution to our Defense Department to use during a couple of years while they’re building the other ones, I think that was a very nice gesture,” Mr. Trump said last year. “Now I could be a stupid person and say, oh no, we don’t want a free plane.”
