President Trump will be taking the new Air Force One given to him by Qatar on a trip to Ireland in mid-September, multiple U.S. officials told CBS News.
This will mark the first time the new plane will be flown overseas since Mr. Trump traveled to Turkey for a NATO summit. During that trip, the Qatari plane was flown ahead to the United Kingdom because of security concerns raised when the U.S. received intelligence about a credible plot to fire a missile at Air Force One. Mr. Trump then secretly swapped planes when he departed from Ankara, a maneuver that was later reported by the Washington Post and confirmed by CBS News. The Washington Post first reported that Mr. Trump is expected to take the Qatari plane to Ireland.
The president told reporters in July after the NATO trip that the new AF1 would be “maxed out.”
Karoline Leavitt, who was the White House press secretary at the time, confirmed in a statement that enhancements would be made to the plane and would take about a month. She said the work on the plane would take place in the fall.
Mr. Trump told reporters Friday the Qatari jet would be “maxed out” starting in October, a roughly two-month process.
“It has a lot of stuff. But to max it out, meaning you can go into any territory, it’ll take about 60 days,” he said.
The administration declined to comment on upgrades or modifications made to the Qatari plane since the president traveled to Turkey.
“We maintain a consistent posture that ensures a safe, secure, and reliable capability for the President of the United States and routinely evolve the capability as required to maintain that posture,” a senior administration official said in a statement.
Mr. Trump plans to attend the Irish Open, which is taking place at the Trump golf course at Doonbeg. He said in March in a meeting with Taoiseach Micheál Martin that “it was a great honor to be chosen” to host the tournament, and that he would try to be in Ireland to watch. The president is expected to meet with Martin and possibly with Irish President Catherine Connolly, the taoiseach indicated recently.
The president is expected to continue to use the Qatari plane regularly for domestic travel.
