U.S. President Donald Trump was reportedly moved between aircraft inside a catering truck and secretly flown from Turkey to Britain aboard a separate military plane during his NATO trip last month, as part of an elaborate security operation prompted by a credible threat. The Washington Post and New York Times, citing unnamed sources and U.S. officials, reported that Trump initially boarded an older Air Force One in Ankara before secretly leaving the aircraft and transferring to another plane.
The operation reportedly used the older Air Force One as a decoy while Trump travelled to Britain aboard a C-32A military aircraft. Journalists travelling on the decoy plane were instructed to keep their window shades closed, and some White House staff reportedly believed Trump remained aboard. The security measures came amid concerns over threats linked to Iran and heightened scrutiny surrounding the president’s newly renovated Boeing 747, which was donated to the United States by Qatar and had been used by Trump to travel to the NATO summit.
Trump’s actual aircraft reportedly arrived at RAF Mildenhall in Britain shortly before the decoy plane carrying the media. The president later appeared to descend from the older Air Force One after arriving, although reports said it remained unclear how he was transferred back to that aircraft. The unusual operation echoed a security measure used by former president Bill Clinton in 2000, when an unmarked aircraft carried him into Pakistan while Air Force One served as a decoy.
Responding to reports about the secret flight, White House Communications Director Steve Cheung said the administration uses every available tool to protect the president from security threats. The White House also maintained that the Qatar-donated aircraft has been equipped with high-level security measures. U.S. authorities have tracked alleged Iranian-linked threats against Trump and other American officials for years, particularly following the 2020 U.S. strike that killed Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.
