Qatari 747 will be ready to fly as Air Force One this summer : NPR

President Donald Trump boards Air Force One at Ocala International Airport in Ocala, Fla., Friday, May 1, 2026, after speaking at an event in The Villages, Fla.

Matt Rourke/AP

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Matt Rourke/AP

The U.S. Air Force has finished modifying and testing a Boeing 747 donated by Qatar for temporary use as Air Force One and hopes to have it ready for use by President Donald Trump this summer, the service announced Friday evening.

The aircraft is currently painted red, white and blue, the Air Force said in a news release.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth accepted the luxury plane a year ago, despite questions about the ethics and legality of accepting an expensive gift from a foreign country, as well as concerns about security and cyber intelligence. Trump defended the giveaway as a way to save taxpayer money.

Trump has said he won’t fly on planes when his term ends. Instead, he said, the plane would be donated to a future presidential library, the same way the Boeing 707 used by President Ronald Reagan was decommissioned and displayed as a museum piece.

Air Force officials said the old Qatari plane would serve as a “bridge” until Boeing was ready to deliver a pair of new planes, which is now expected in 2028.

The two planes currently used as Air Force One have been flying for nearly four decades and Trump is eager to replace them. During his first term, he displayed a model of a new jumbo jet in the Oval Office, with a revised paint job echoing the red, white and dark blue design of his personal plane.

Boeing has upgraded 747s originally built for a now-defunct Russian airliner. But the program has faced nearly a decade of delays due to a series of problems, including the bankruptcy of a critical subcontractor and difficulty finding and retaining qualified personnel who could obtain high-level security clearances.

The new planes aren’t expected to be finished before Trump’s term ends, and he’s running out of patience. He described the situation as “a complete mess” and complained that Air Force One is not as nice as the planes flown by some Arab leaders.

The $400 million Qatari plane has been described as a “palace in the sky”, complete with luxurious accommodations and high-end finishes.

But security is the main concern when it comes to presidential travel. The current Air Force One planes were built from scratch near the end of the Cold War. They are hardened against the effects of a nuclear explosion and include a series of safety features, such as anti-missile countermeasures and an on-board operating room. They are also equipped with in-flight refueling capabilities in case of emergency, although they have never been used with a president on board.

It is unclear what capabilities were added to the older Qatari aircraft. The Air Force has not revealed the cost of the changes, but lawmakers last year suggested they could exceed $1 billion.

Air Force officials said they leased a 747-8 cargo plane from Atlas Air between October and February so pilots could familiarize themselves with the latest variant. The United States also purchased two planes from German airline Lufthansa for training and spare parts. Boeing to stop building 747s in 2023.