President Donald Trump plans to travel to Ireland next week aboard the Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar, using the aircraft for his first international trip on the jet since a security scare in Turkey in July forced him onto an alternate plane. The trip comes as upgrades intended to bring the aircraft closer to the presidential Air Force One standard have slipped, with the work now not expected until autumn at the earliest.
The aircraft remains under scrutiny because it lacks some of the security and communications systems fitted to the heavily customised presidential fleet. White House planning has therefore focused on retrofits, but there is still no public timetable for completing the additional work. That leaves the Qatar-gifted jet in service despite unresolved concerns over its protective capability and communications resilience.
Trump’s use of the aircraft for an overseas journey underlines continued reliance on the 747 while the upgrade programme remains unfinished. The travel plan was described by a senior White House official, rather than in a formal public release, and the latest schedule shift suggests the jet will keep flying before the final security modifications are completed.