In July 2026, President Trump attended the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, arriving on a newly refurbished Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar, known as the new Air Force One [1, 2, 3, 4].
On July 8, due to credible threats from Iran, Trump secretly switched planes when leaving Turkey. Instead of departing on the official Air Force One planes, he used a less conspicuous Boeing C-32A transport plane for the journey to the UK [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]. Trump was publicly seen boarding the older Air Force One (VC-25A) at the Turkish airport where he waved to media, but he was privately transferred via an airport catering truck to the C-32A, which flew him to the Mildenhall Royal Air Force base in the UK [1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 4, 8].
The older Air Force One served as a decoy, with some White House staff and media unaware of the secret switch, effectively luring potential attackers away from Trump [2, 3, 9, 10]. After landing in the UK, Trump transferred back to the older Air Force One for a brief media appearance, then boarded the new Qatar-gifted Air Force One to fly home to Washington [2, 4, 9, 10].
US intelligence intercepted multiple credible threats, including shoulder-fired missiles near the summit and detailed Iranian knowledge of Trump's hotel floor, prompting heightened security measures [5, 11]. Some senior officials, including Senator Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Stephen Miller, and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung, remained on the original Air Force One, reportedly unaware of the secret transfer [5, 11].
Trump acknowledged following Secret Service and military advice for the plane switch, stating, "I just followed their arrangement... any influential president gets many threats; an uninfluential one does not" [5]. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said, "As the president recently said, many of America's enemies are watching him closely, and we will use every available means to confront these threats" [1].
The White House initially denied use of a third plane and described claims of deception as misinformation [1]. The operation was unusual in its thorough public deception, misleading journalists and some White House staff, raising controversy over potential risks to staff and media [9, 10]. Reports indicate the White House took steps to suppress media coverage, subpoenaing journalists and conducting internal investigations [9, 10].
Former Secret Service agent Donald Mikhailek said protective countermeasures including decoys are standard in dangerous areas, "as long as the president is in a potentially combat-risk zone." [2] Former White House advisor David Axelrod called for transparency about threat levels, saying, "If the threat is high enough to require such extreme steps, the public deserves to know how high that threat actually is" [10].
Historically, other presidents have used secretive travel arrangements for security but Trump's operation was notably more opaque [12].
The secret plane switch occurred on July 8, 2026, with the older Air Force One arriving at UK Mildenhall at 22:16 local time, and Trump exiting the plane by 22:56 [2, 4]. The Washington Post reported on the operation on August 10 after insider disclosures [1, 9]. Trump publicly confirmed the procedures and threat awareness on August 11 [5, 11].
