US President Donald Trump confirmed he secretly switched from Air Force One to a smaller military aircraft during the NATO summit in Turkey on 8 July 2026.
Security teams smuggled Donald Trump off the presidential plane using cargo containers to evade a suspected Iranian shoulder-fired missile threat warned of by Israel.
Around 12 White House journalists remained on the original Air Force One, unaware of the swap, and flew out of Turkey acting as unwitting decoys.
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday confirmed that he switched from Air Force One to a different plane during a recent summit in Turkey due to a threat, saying he acted on the advice of the Secret Service and the military.
The secret operation unfolded in Turkey. On 8 July 2026, Trump entered the primary aircraft publicly before security personnel secretly moved him to escape an assassination plot, The Washington Post reported. They utilised a food service vehicle and freight crates to conceal his departure.
Images captured the decoy setup. AFP photographs captured two supply bins on hydraulic lifts at both ends of the plane. The president slipped into one of these bins to board a smaller Air Force jet parked nearby.
Meanwhile, about 12 journalists travelling in a separate section of Air Force One remained unaware of the switch. The press pool eventually flew out of Turkey on the original aircraft despite the apparent threat from Iran, which is at war with the US.
Reporters Reject Decoy Role
The travelling press corps expressed anger over their role as decoys, criticising the White House for deception and a lack of communication.
An unnamed White House reporter told The Washington Post, "When you sign up to work at the White House, even as a civilian, part of your job is to defend the president. That's not my job. I cover the president. Reporters take risks as part of the job, but not on behalf of the president."
Several senior officials, including US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, remained on the original Air Force One aircraft.
Dispatches sent by pool media reported an unusual Secret Service order that window shades be lowered during takeoff—a directive rarely issued outside active combat zones.
The Iranian Missile Threat
Israel warned the US about a possible Iranian shoulder-fired missile attack targeting Air Force One, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The threat exposed logistical vulnerabilities in the primary transport of the president. Trump had arrived at the NATO summit in Turkey on a luxury Boeing 747 gifted by Qatar and retrofitted to carry him. However, the aircraft reportedly lacked anti-missile security systems, prompting the last-minute use of the older Air Force One.
Trump said at the time that the newer plane was being sent ahead for US troops in Britain to tour as a treat. At a stopover in Britain, he returned to the Qatar-gifted plane for the flight to Washington.
White House Defends Actions
Asked why the media had been asked to lower window blinds, Trump said it was "because you're probably on a dangerous flight because of the sleaze bags that we have to deal with".
"If I go, you go. Right?" Trump told reporters, adding, "Perhaps someday you want to change professions."
The White House has not directly addressed the reported plane swap. However, communications director Steven Cheung defended the security measures, saying: "There are many enemies of America who have their sights on him, and we use every tool at our disposal to address those threats."
Presidential plane swaps have occurred before. Bill Clinton used a decoy aircraft carrying Secret Service agents in 2000 while travelling from India to Pakistan. Joe Biden's 2023 visit to Ukraine was also kept highly secret during a long journey by plane and train, though a reporter and a photographer accompanied him.
