The Trump administration is set to accept a luxury Boeing 747-8 from the Qatari royal family to be retrofitted and used as Air Force One.
President Donald Trump embarks Monday on his first major foreign trip, which includes a stop in Doha, Qatar.
The Trump administration is preparing to accept a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar, a gift that is to be available for use by President Donald Trump as the new Air Force One according to sources familiar with the plans reported by ABC News.
President Trump toured the plane, which is so opulently configured it is known as “a flying palace,” while it was parked at the West Palm Beach International Airport in February.
A Qatari official said the plane is technically being gifted from the Qatari Ministry of Defense to the Pentagon, describing it more as a government-to-government transaction instead of a personal one.
The Defense Department will then retrofit the 13-year-old plane for the president’s use with security features and modifications.
Within the Secret Service, the potential gifting of a plane by a foreign government for presidential use is being viewed as a “security nightmare,” a law enforcement source told CNN.
The USAF has already ordered two new Boeing 747-8I aircraft, designated VC-25B, to replace the aging VC-25A fleet. Donald Trump has expressed anger at Boeing over delays in delivering two new Air Force One jets for use as part of a $3.9 billion contract.
